


Trio Trials

by haruka



Category: Bakuretsu Hunter, Fushigi Yuugi, Lamune, Rurouni Kenshin, Sailor Moon - All Media Types, YuYu Hakusho
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, F/F, F/M, M/M, Rurouni Kenshin - Freeform, Sailormoon, bakuretsu hunter - Freeform, fushighi yuugi, lamune - Freeform, yu yu hakusho - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-30
Updated: 2012-10-04
Packaged: 2017-11-13 04:51:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 42,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/499682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haruka/pseuds/haruka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>PLEASE READ: This is a family-based, alternate universe crossover story, so you can expect anything and everything including character ages and canon relationships being changed, and men being mothers.  Contains yaoi/yuri relationships.  It stars the Amazon Trio from Sailormoon SS, but also has other charas from Sailormoon/Stars, plus more from Rurouni Kenshin, Yuu Yuu Hakushou, Fushigi Yuugi, and maybe others later.  Not meant to be canon.  This fic DOES contain corporal punishment, so consider yourself warned.</p><p>I began this story in 1998 and stopped writing it at chapter 35.  More recently, I've gone through it and am not happy with the latter half of the chapters.  Therefore, I'm revising and reposting it up into the teens and then hope to pick it up again fresh.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Trio Trials

Part 1

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

It was a beautiful beach. Fish Eye stood barefoot in the warm sand and breathed deeply of the salt air. The cool breeze blew a long tendril of sky-blue hair into his deep blue eyes, but he didn't care. He was already off and running toward the water.

"Fishie, wake up."

"Hm?" The inviting ocean waves faded from view as Fish Eye reluctantly opened his eyes. He saw his purple-haired mother, Nuriko, smiling back at him from the front seat of the car.

"We're here, honey."

Lifting his head from his brother Hawk Eye's broad shoulder, Fish Eye peered ahead at their new house. It was big enough for the five of them with room left over, but what mattered to Fish Eye had nothing to do with the house. He scrambled over his other brother, Tiger Eye, who complained noisily at being treated like a speed bump.

"Fish Eye, slow down!" his tall father, Sanosuke, called after him. "It's not going anywhere!"

Maybe not, the pretty Shifter thought, but he first wanted to make sure it was there.

As soon as he rounded the corner of the house, he saw it. Sparkling clear, blue and irresistible. Not an ocean perhaps, but the sight of the enormous inground swimming pool was enough to make his heart pound. Without a moment's hesitation, Fish Eye jumped into the water. He came up beaming.

"You could have changed into a bathing suit first," Hawk Eye said wryly as he and Tiger Eye looked down at him from the patio.

"Oh, who cares?" Fish Eye said airily. "Isn't this pool gorgeous?"

"Glad you're happy, Fish Eye," Nuriko said as he joined them, easily carrying four large cardboard boxes, "but right now we have a truck to unload."

"Don't bother taking Fishie's stuff out," Tiger Eye said mischievously. "He'll be living in the pool."

Fish Eye could indeed have lived happily in the pool. He was in his human form now, but in mid-way form he showed more of his Shifter aspects, such as scaled hands with webbed fingers. If he took it a step further, he would be a true fish, the only visible clue to his origin being vivid blue eyes. Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye were as comfortable in the sky and woods as he was in the water.

"Come on, boys!" Sanosuke called from around front.

Fish Eye closed his eyes and did the backstroke in contented bliss. He vaguely remembered throwing a crying fit when their father announced their imminent move from Kyoto to Tokyo. The tears stopped abruptly with the revelation that their new house had a pool. Maybe he was being bribed into accepting the move, but right now he didn't care.

"You heard Mama and Papa, Fish Eye," Hawk Eye said in annoyance. "We have work to do."

Too bad there hadn't been anything worthwhile to bribe his brothers with, Fish Eye thought with a sigh. On the contrary, both Tiger Eye and Hawk Eye had lost out when they left Kyoto. Tall, blonde, blue-eyed, Tiger Eye had more girlfriends than he knew what to do with. He'd been certain to be nominated for Homecoming King, and just about anything else they could come up with to honour him. Now he'd have to start all over at a new school with no reputation to precede him.

Known for being cool and sexy, Hawk Eye nevertheless dated only rarely. He preferred to spend time with his friends, especially one in particular whom he'd known since grammar school. For he the move represented the end of that close friendship and nothing else.

As for Fish Eye, there'd been no one special that he'd left behind. He'd dated, of course, but no one that he wanted to see more than casually. He was pretty and feminine, and knew he'd have no trouble finding a nice boyfriend when he was ready. What he wasn't quite so sure of was whether the girls would accept him as one of them. If not, he may as well do as Tiger Eye predicted and live in the pool.

\--

Next door, Tenou Haruka was whistling as she jogged up the driveway. The prospect of seeing her beautiful girlfriend Michiru was always guaranteed to lift her spirits, but she was especially looking forward to this visit. There was a motocross competition that afternoon, and Michiru had already agreed to come along and cheer her on. Not that there was any chance of her losing, but Michiru's presence would make the victory even sweeter.

"Hello?" Haruka said as she entered the house. She and Michiru's families had known each other forever, and had long since dispensed with the time-wasting exercise of knocking.

A stunning woman with dark green hair to her calves came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "Hello, Haruka. How are you?"

"I'm great, Setsuna, and you?" Calling each other's parents by their first names was another accepted custom for the Tenous and Kaious.

Setsuna's ruby eyes smiled at her warmly. "I'm fine, thank you. I understand you're going to risk life and limb again today?"

"Every chance I get." Haruka laughed, running a hand through her short gold hair. "But hey, with me it's never a risk, you know."

"Not to you, maybe, but for those of us who love you it's always a time to worry." Setsuna gave her a maternal kiss on the cheek. "Just be careful, all right?"

"You and Mom rehearse, don't you? That's exactly what he said." Haruka grinned.

"It's instinctual for mothers, I suppose." Setsuna smiled. "Michiru is out back."

"In the pool? I should have known." Haruka headed for the back doors.

"Actually, she and Kurama are spying on the new neighbors," Setsuna said. "I would have joined them, but I want to finish this casserole so I can bring it over. No one ever has time to cook on moving day."

"I'm sure they'll appreciate that, especially if it tastes as good as it smells." Haruka reached the glass doors and peered out. She saw Michiru and her younger brother both trying to sneak a peek at the neighbors without being seen. A mischievous gleam came into her green eyes and she winked back at Setsuna before tip-toeing outside.

Setsuna smiled to herself, shaking her head. She loved her best friend, Zoisite's, children as if they were her own, and she knew Zoisite felt the same way about Michiru and Kurama. She could still remember Haruka as a feisty four-year-old with tousled hair, dirt on her face, untied laces, and a tear in the knee of her overalls. Now she was tall, leggy, and beautiful, with a figure that made both sexes take notice when she chose to reveal it. Haruka was still a feisty, tousle-haired tomboy who wouldn't wear skirts, but that was okay. Michiru was as feminine as Haruka was boyish and the two complimented each other nicely.

"Was that Haruka?"

Setsuna turned and smiled at her husband, Kenshin. He was a master samurai with long red hair with a perfect 'X' marking his left cheek. Loving purple eyes returned her smile. Kenshin was the most gentle, easy-going man she'd ever met. He took life very much as it came and had a calming effect on those around him.

"Yes, she's gone out to find Michiru."

"I saw she and Kurama spying on the new neighbors," Kenshin said. "It looks as if there are kids their age moving in."

"I wonder what the parents are like," Setsuna speculated. Kenshin put his arms around her.

"You'll find out when you bring over that delicious casserole," he said. "And I'll go with you to welcome them."

The phone rang and Setsuna grinned. "I'll bet you anything that's Zoi."

Kenshin chuckled. "I won't take that bet."

Setsuna picked up the receiver. "Hello? ... Oh, hi Zoi! ... Yes, it looks like the new people are moving in ...." She winked at Kenshin who stifled a laugh.

\--

Even from the back, Michiru looked incredible. Her wavy sea-green hair, slender waist, gently flaring hips and sexy legs were enough to make Haruka's skin tingle. However, they weren't enough to keep her from sneaking up behind her and tickling her ribs.

"Aaaah!" Michiru screamed.

"Aaaah!" echoed Kurama as he jumped into the air.

"Hi, whatcha doing?" Haruka grinned.

Michiru's reproving blue eyes flashed as she gave her tall tomboy a slap on the arm. "Waiting for my heart to crawl down from my throat! You scared me!"

"You wouldn't have been so easily scared if you weren't so intent on being nosy." Haruka shifted her amused gaze to Kurama, whom she'd frightened out of his wits. And with Kurama's wits, that was quite an accomplishment. Both she and Michiru were excellent students, maintaining high averages without any difficulty. But Kurama, like Haruka's younger sister, Yui, was an honour student. The two of them traded off top position weekly, and were the best of friends. Haruka's father Kunzite joked that they had to be, since no one else could understand what they were talking about. Kurama was not only smart, he was gorgeous, with long red hair and big green eyes. Like his father, he was quiet and polite, and it took a lot to rankle him.

"Yui would have come over with me, but she's finishing up some homework." Haruka sighed. "Imagine, homework on a Saturday."

"I finished mine last night," Kurama said innocently.

"This morning for me," Michiru admitted.

"Hey, I'll get mine done, too, and correctly. It's just that I wanted this day for me." Haruka peered through the fence. "So, what have we got here?"

"Three teenagers," Michiru said. "Two boys and a girl. They're beautiful, but unusual. We both sense strong magic around them."

Haruka would never question either Michiru or Kurama's psychic instincts whereas she might wonder about her own. Still, she concentrated her attention on the new people she hadn't yet seen.

"I see what you mean," she admitted. "It doesn't feel like hostile magic, at least."

"No more so than yours," Kurama said.

Haruka and Michiru were Sailor Senshi. As Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, they both possessed powers that could effectively stop anyone who threatened them. Haruka gave Kurama a wry look.

"Look who's talking, Mr. My-Plants-Eat-People."

"Some of my plants eat demons," Kurama corrected. "No need to exaggerate, Haruka."

"Aren't demons people, too?" Haruka teased. "You ought to know."

There was more to Kurama than anyone would guess. In reality, he was a five-hundred year old fox spirit. Fifteen years earlier, he'd been mortally wounded by a hunter. In desperation, he tore his soul from his body and entered that of Kaiou Setsuna's unborn baby. In his true form, Yohko Kurama was not only stunningly beautiful with long silver hair and tail, fox ears and gold eyes, he was sly and mischievous. In the spiritworld, he had a reputation as an accomplished thief, and his ability to control and create demonic plants meant both forms of Kurama were to be taken seriously.

"Ssh, you two!" Michiru hissed, peering through the fence. "They're coming back."

Haruka took another look and saw an attractive couple come out of the house and head for the truck. One was very tall, with spiky dark hair and handsome features. The other was a lovely woman with long purple hair, maroon eyes, and a slight frame. To the observers' surprise, both of them stacked several large boxes and carried them back into the house in one load each.

"They must be amazingly strong," Kurama remarked.

"Wouldn't have known it to look at either of them," Haruka said. "The woman is too little and the man's too slim."

"Strength must be their magic," Michiru said. "Oh, look. Here come the kids."

Three teenagers came bounding out of the house. All of them were pretty, but none shared any similar features. The tallest one had blue-grey eyes and long blonde hair with two tendrils that extended from his sideburn area, giving the odd impression of cat whiskers. He paused to admire himself in the truck's rear-view mirror before hopping inside. The other boy was well-built, and had spiky pink hair and sexy red eyes. He scowled before accepting the box that the blonde handed down to him. The only girl was as slightly built as her mother, and just as beautiful. Her sky-blue hair swung across her back as she walked and wide, bright blue eyes regarded her brothers with concern. A long tendril of hair extended out in front of her face without touching it. She took a smaller box from the blonde and followed the pink-haired boy into the house.

"Did you feel it?" Michiru asked Haruka.

"Yeah, they've definitely got magic. It's a common one that all three of them share, too."

"I think they're Shifters," Kurama said thoughtfully. "As a fox spirit, I can recognize animal you-ki and they all have it."

"Well, why don't we ask them?" Haruka said, and vaulted over the fence.

\--

Fish Eye came back outside feeling down. In their annoyance over the move, Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye had taken to bickering over things that normally wouldn't be a problem. The latest was the new bedrooms, and who should get which one. Naturally, both boys decided on the same room, with their father settling the dispute by giving the room to the only uninterested party -- Fish Eye. So now both his brothers were mad at him. The funny thing was that the room didn't look any different to Fish Eye from the rooms on either side of it.

"Hi there!"

"Aaah!" Fish Eye cried. He stared at the tall blonde apparition that had suddenly appeared before him.

"I'm sorry. I don't usually make a habit of sneaking up on cute girls." The blonde winked.

"Oh yes, she does!" A lovely green-haired girl climbed over the neighbors' fence and walked over to glare at the blonde. Fish Eye tried to accept that the blonde was a 'she', but it wasn't easy. Finally, he remembered his manners.

"Uh, I'm Sagara Fish Eye. We moved here from Kyoto."

The green-haired girl smiled warmly. "I'm Kaiou Michiru, your next-door neighbor." She nodded at the blonde. "This is Tenou Haruka, my girlfriend. She lives right across the street."

"Hey, wait for me!" a voice accompanied by the sound of running feet came up the driveway. A pretty girl with hair of a similar colour and style to Haruka's came around the side of the moving truck. She smiled at Fish Eye. "Hi, my name is Tenou Yui. I'm Haruka's sister."

"I'm Sagara Fish Eye. It's nice to meet you."

"Kurama, you may as well stop skulking around and join us," Michiru called out. A beautiful boy whose face was almost as red as his hair climbed over the fence and walked up to the group. He smiled shyly at Fish Eye, who could feel himself blushing in return.

"This is my brother, Kurama," Michiru explained.

"Welcome to the neighborhood." Kurama handed him a rose, deepening Fish Eye's blush. Haruka rolled her eyes and Michiru nudged her teasingly.

"You're just mad because he's as charming as you are and with less effort."

"It doesn't take any effort for him to produce roses on demand," Haruka mumbled.

Fish Eye's brothers came out of the house behind him and paused at seeing the newcomers. "Come here, you guys," he said. "These are my brothers, Tiger Eye and Hawk Eye." He proceeded to introduce each of their neighbors in turn.

"Where'd you get the rose, Fishie?" Hawk Eye asked.

"Kurama gave it to me. Wasn't that nice?"

"You'll get used to it," Haruka said dryly. "Wherever Kurama is, you'll find flowers and plants." She studied Hawk Eye thoughtfully. "You've got really cool hair. Do you race?"

"Race what?" he asked.

"Cars, motorcycles, whatever."

"I don't have my own car, unfortunately." Hawk Eye frowned. "We've been trying to talk our parents into at least getting us one to share between us, but so far no go."

"I'll work on them for you," Haruka said confidently. "Everyone should have a car."

"She'll do it, too," Yui said.

"She?" Tiger Eye said without thinking. "Oh, sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Michiru assured him. "She encourages mistakes like that."

"Sounds like Fish Eye." Tiger Eye grinned at his brother, who shot him a glare in return.

"What do you mean?" Haruka asked.

"He means that Fish Eye is a boy, even though he dresses like a girl half the time," Hawk Eye said.

"This is about the room, isn't it?" Fish Eye muttered. "I'll get you guys for this."

Haruka's jaw had dropped, and Michiru calmly reached over and closed it for her. "Yes dear," she said lightly. "You were flirting with a boy."

"Could have fooled me," Haruka admitted. "In fact, he did."

"Don't be angry with your brothers, Fish Eye," Kurama told him. "We would have found out sooner or later, and it makes no difference anyway."

"Really?" Fish Eye twirled the flower in his fingertips. "You don't want your rose back?"

"No." Kurama smiled. "It looks better with you."

"You're blushing, Fishie," Tiger Eye pointed out.

"Shut up," Fish Eye warned behind clenched teeth.

"Hey, there's something we wanted to ask you guys," Haruka said. "Are you Shifters?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" Hawk Eye asked in surprise.

"Between the four of us, we've got some good instincts."

"Well, you're right," Tiger Eye said. "We each have a human, mid-way, and animal form."

"Let me guess." Yui smiled. "A tiger, hawk, and fish?"

"Right," Fish Eye said. "Although we were actually named after the jewels."

"May we see your mid-way forms?" Kurama asked.

"Don't know why not." Hawk Eye shrugged, and he and his brothers changed. All three now had pointed ears, two coloured streaks on their left cheeks, and a black dot in the centre of their foreheads. Their clothes had changed as well, and Hawk Eye now wore a lavender outfit that consisted of a sash over one shoulder, a short skirt, tights, and high heels. Two small hoops in both earlobes and brown spiky-cut gloves reminiscent of his hair completed the look. Tiger Eye had on striped tights, black knee boots, black bikini bottoms, and a mostly-white top that stretched down both arms to cover his hands, leaving his midriff bare. He wore a necklace, rings, and a bracelet, plus dangling razor blades for earrings. Fish Eye's outfit was a puffy blue one-piece bodysuit, low-cut in front and in back, with a pink fish skeleton running down the centre of his midriff. On his feet were blue and red high heels. His only jewelry was a pair of thin green and orange earrings.

"Unreal," Haruka murmured. "You guys like to make an impression, huh?"

"These are the clothes that always appear with our mid-way forms," Hawk Eye said. "I think we were circus performers in a previous life."

"We mostly stay in our human forms," Fish Eye said. "It's easier than explaining things and we blend in better."

"I think you three would stand out no matter what you do," Yui said frankly.

"It would be hard for you to go unnoticed," Kurama agreed.

"You're probably right," Tiger Eye said. "Hey, would you all like to come inside and meet our parents? I warn you now, Fishie takes after our mother. He's a male, too."

"What?" Michiru gasped. "That pretty purple-haired woman is a man?"

Haruka laughed. "Hey, why not? You should see _my_ mom!"

\--

"It was really nice of you to do this, we appreciate it," Nuriko said to his new neighbors. It was late in the day, and he and Sanosuke were sitting at their kitchen table with Setsuna and Kenshin, and the Tenous, Kunzite and Zoisite. They had all hit it off with the Sagaras during the dinner of Setsuna's casserole and the cherry pie Zoisite brought.

"We were glad to do it," Setsuna said. "Moving is such a hassle. And of course, we wanted to meet your family."

"Your sons and daughter are beautiful," Zoisite remarked, playing with a tendril of his long butterscotch-coloured hair.

Sanosuke smirked at Nuriko. "Did you have another child without telling me?"

The elbow he received in the ribs knocked him off his chair. Zoisite frowned. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Not at all." Nuriko sipped his tea. "Your mistake is understandable. You see, Fish Eye is a boy."

"Oh!" Zoisite looked startled. "I'm ... sorry."

"Don't be." Sanosuke pulled himself back into his seat. "He dresses like a girl often, and his mannerisms and speech patterns are feminine."

"Much like Zoi's, I expect." Kunzite put an affectionate arm around his mate. "He gets mistaken for a woman often."

"Nuriko, too," Sanosuke said.

"You mean she's a he?" Setsuna asked uncertainly.

"They're going to fit in very well in this neighborhood." Kenshin smiled. "Nuriko and his son have a lot in common with Zoisite and Haruka."

"What _about_ your son?" Nuriko asked Zoisite, who laughed.

"Our son is a daughter."

"I think we see what you mean," Sanosuke said wryly and looked at Kenshin. "What about your children? I'm pretty sure about Michiru being a girl, but Kurama is a boy, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is, although he, too, has caused confusion."

"I think we're going to like it here very much," Nuriko said. "I just hope the boys adjust to it all right. They weren't happy about the move."

"Don't worry," Kunzite assured him. "Our kids will change their minds."

\--

"This is a gorgeous car!" Hawk Eye declared as he walked around the gold Porsche in Haruka's driveway.

"Want to drive it?" Haruka tossed him the keys. He stared at them, then at her.

"You serious?"

"Sure, let's go."

Hawk Eye grinned and got into the driver's seat. Haruka slid in beside him and he started the car.

"If you turn right out of the driveway and then right again at the first corner, you'll be able to see your new school."

"Okay, cool." Hawk Eye steered the car into the street then gave it the gas. Haruka whooped as they disappeared from sight.

\--

"There goes Haruka," Michiru said, peeking out her living room window. "Oops, no! That's your brother driving."

Tiger Eye leaned down to look out beside her. "Whoa, she let him drive that beautiful car? She just made a friend for life."

"Hawk Eye is interested in cars?"

"Cars, science, computers, girls, boys, birds." Tiger Eye shrugged. "Hawk Eye's interested in anything interesting. He's not a genius, but he gets good grades."

"Do you?"

"When I try hard enough, which isn't often," Tiger Eye admitted. "The only thing I like about school is that pretty girls congregate there."

Michiru smiled. "And Fish Eye?"

"He's very bright. He could keep up with Hawk Eye no problem if he weren't so easily distracted."

"By what?"

"Friends. He likes to gossip and pass notes in class. He's also an incurable flirt when good-looking guys are around."

"Sounds like Haruka with girls."

"Does that bother you?"

"Not really," Michiru said. "She's not serious about it, it's a game to her. I'm proud that other girls find her attractive."

"I'm surprised she isn't worried about competition for _your_ attention." Tiger Eye smiled suggestively.

Michiru raised a delicate eyebrow. "She trusts me. With good reason."

Tiger Eye gave her a respectful nod. "Fair enough."

She patted his shoulder. "Even if, God forbid, there was no Haruka, I'm afraid you wouldn't be my type, Tiger Eye. I've never been interested in boys."

"Believe it or not, that _is_ a comfort." Tiger Eye grinned.

\--

Fish Eye looked around with a smile. "Your garden is beautiful, Kurama."

"Botany is his thing," Yui remarked, grinning at the redhead.

"What are you interested in, Fish Eye?" Kurama asked.

"Swimming, of course. I like to shop, mostly for clothes. Oh, and I'm a dancer."

"What kind of dance?" Yui inquired.

"Ballet. I can dance en pointe." Fish Eye did an impromptu pirouette, then frowned. "I hope there's a good ballet studio around here."

"There's one about five minutes away," Yui told him. "Haruka and Michiru went there for lessons when they were little."

"Haruka?" Fish Eye sounded surprised.

Yui laughed. "Our moms put them in together. Haruka hid in the changing room the first day and refused to come out. She never went back."

"Michiru kept going for a year, then she discovered the violin and her painting," Kurama explained.

"Beautiful _and_ talented, hm?" Fish Eye remarked.

"Michiru is a model lady," Yui explained. "She and Haruka are good at everything they try."

"Everyone admires them at school," Kurama added. "They're the golden couple."

Fish Eye studied them. "That must be hard for you sometimes."

They exchanged a look. "More for Yui than me," Kurama said. "Being Michi's brother, I don't get compared to her the way Yui's compared to her sister."

"Who's practically a brother, anyway," Yui said dryly. "But I have good things going for me, too. Kurama and I skipped a grade; Michi and Haruka have never done that."

"Did you get compared to your brothers a lot?" Kurama asked.

"Sure, but mostly because we're all so different. We all had friends, though, so it was never a problem."

"You'll have friends here, too." Yui smiled, then gave Kurama a sideways glance. "And as friends, we should fill you in on the hidden aspects of everyone around here ...."

\--

End of part 1

(1998)

Character copyrights will be too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Trio get some news that makes them do something desperate.

Trio Trials

Part 2

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

Thud, crash, bang.

Fish Eye groaned and pulled the covers over his head. He wasn't ready to get up yet, but apparently his brothers had other ideas.

"That's mine, give it here!"

"Ha! Come and get it!"

Thump, bump, crack.

What's the use? Fish Eye wondered and shoved his blankets down. Glancing at the clock, he decided it was time he was up, anyway.

He smiled to himself as he surveyed his newly-decorated room. They had been in the new house for almost a week, and he had settled in quite nicely, both in his surroundings and with his new friends. Kurama and Yui were always sweet to him, and he enjoyed their company, but he had to admit it was Michiru with whom he had bonded. She loved the water as much as he did ... not surprising, considering her admission that she was Sailor Neptune. She also appreciated the arts, being a well-known violinist and artist. In fact, she had done Fish Eye the honour of painting a seascape mural on one wall of his new room. He never got tired of looking at it. He could almost smell the salt air.

Hawk Eye stuck his head in the room. "Fish Eye, are you coming out today or what?"

The half-fish threw a pillow at him. "Let me get dressed, will you?"

Hawk Eye, too, was faring well with the move. He and Haruka had become fast friends ... literally. He loved going out in her car or on her motorcycle, and was working harder at pestering their parents for wheels of his own. She'd taken him to the racetrack with her a few times already, and although glad for his brother's newfound kinship with Haruka, Fish Eye hoped he wouldn't take up racing. It looked too dangerous to him.

Back out in the hallway, he heard Tiger Eye and Hawk Eye start up their argument again and frowned. He wished Tiger Eye had been as fortunate as he and Hawk Eye, but so far, he hadn't found anyone to pal around with. The Kaious and Tenous were all as nice to Tiger Eye as to any of them, but there weren't any kindred spirits amongst them for him. Fish Eye hoped things would get better for his feline sibling once they started school ... that was where Tiger Eye had always gained a following before, anyway. Unfortunately for him, extra-credit classes had just ended and vacation begun. It would be a while before he could conquer the new school.

The phone rang elsewhere in the house, and Fish Eye hoped it was Michiru ... they had made plans to go shopping that day. He decided to use the quick way of getting changed that only he and his two brothers were capable of. Snapping his fingers, a blue curtain fell down to shield him briefly, then it rolled up and vanished, leaving Fish Eye wearing an oversized off-the-shoulder shirt, belted at the waist, with black tights. He fairly danced down the stairs and ran up to his father, waiting for him to hand over the phone receiver.

"All right," Sanosuke was saying to whomever was on the opposite end. "Yes, that's fine."

Darn, Fish Eye thought. It wasn't Michiru after all. He turned away, thinking about breakfast.

"Don't worry, Mitsukake, everything will be fine."

Mitsukake? Fish Eye stopped and looked back at his father curiously. Mitsukake was his father's brother.

"Oh sure, we're all settled in here now, and it's fine with Nuriko." Sanosuke noticed Fish Eye. "Listen, we'll talk again tonight, okay? ... Bye for now." He hung up the phone.

"What was that about, Papa?" Fish Eye inquired.

Sanosuke deliberately pushed the neckline of Fish Eye's shirt up onto his shoulders. "I'll tell you at breakfast, come on."

Fish Eye watched him walk toward the kitchen, then pushed his shirt back off his shoulders once more before following.

\--

"Okay, Papa, _now_ will you please tell us what's going on?"

"Is something going on?" Tiger Eye asked, looking up from his plate of waffles.

"Uncle Mitsukake called before, and it sounded like something was up," Fish Eye said, studying his father intently.

Sanosuke exchanged a look with Nuriko, then took a deep breath. "Well, as a matter of fact, I _do_ have some news."

"Is anything wrong?" Hawk Eye asked.

"No, it's actually very good news." Sanosuke cleared his throat. "Your cousins are coming to visit."

"AUUUUGGHHHH!" wailed the three boys.

"Now, just a minute," Nuriko began warningly.

"Mama! They're brats and you know it!" Tiger Eye protested.

"Every time they visit they get us in trouble!" Hawk Eye exclaimed.

"They're the spawn of Satan!" Fish Eye declared.

"Fish Eye!" Sanosuke boomed. "That's my brother you're talking about!"

"They can't possibly be your blood relations, Papa," Fish Eye assured him. "They must have been left on the doorstep and Uncle Mitsukake just didn't want to tell you."

"Then how do you explain their similarities to _you_?" Nuriko pointed out. "They don't call themselves the Amazoness Quartet for nothing."

"No, they do it because they couldn't come up with an imaginative name on their own," Hawk Eye muttered.

"Nevertheless," Nuriko said, "they _are_ coming, and you're to be nice to them."

"Great." Fish Eye slumped in his chair. "We just got accepted in this neighborhood and now they'll be after us with pitchforks."

"One more comment like that, young man, and you won't be going shopping today," Sanosuke warned him.

Fish Eye pressed his lips together. He wanted to ask how long they would be afflicted by their cousins' presence, but was afraid of what his response would be to the answer.

So Tiger Eye asked. "How long are they staying?"

"Too long," Hawk Eye replied.

"Hawk Eye!" Nuriko cautioned.

"They'll be here for a while," Sanosuke said vaguely. "Their parents are taking a trip."

Fish Eye pressed his hand to his mouth - it was the only way he could keep himself quiet. Tiger Eye had no such restraints.

"Probably taking the trip to get away from their daughters," he remarked.

"Okay, _that's_ enough!" Sanosuke said firmly. "The girls will be here in a couple of days. Your mother and I expect you three to do your part in cleaning up the house for their arrival."

"How dirty can it be?" Fish Eye couldn't help saying. "We haven't even lived here a week."

Sanosuke gave him a direct, warning look. "_Nevertheless_, there are preparations to be made."

"Yeah, Tigger, Fishie, and I need to reserve ourselves adjoining rooms in the local looney bin."

"Hawk Eye!" Nuriko admonished.

"I declare breakfast officially over," Sanosuke said.

The phone rang and Fish Eye sprang to his feet. "Now _that's_ Michiru!"

"Don't stay away all day, Fish Eye," Nuriko told him. "I'll need your help here."

Fish Eye sighed. "Yes, Mama." He darted into the living room and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

"Fish Eye?" Michiru's musical voice came over the line. "Is something wrong? You sound stressed."

"You don't know the half of it, Michiru. Are we still going shopping? I warn you, if you say no, I'm going to break the sound barrier with my soul-shattered scream."

Michiru giggled. "I love your dramatics, Fishie. Don't worry, we're still going. Meet you in five minutes?"

Fish Eye breathed a sigh of relief. "That's fine. And I'll tell you everything on the way to the mall."

\--

Haruka stood up and wiped her hands on a rag. "That's really tough, Hawk Eye. What are you going to do?"

He shrugged miserably. "Not much I _can_ do. They're coming whether we like it or not, and incidentally, we don't like it."

The short-haired blonde pushed her cap back and grinned. "May I make a suggestion?"

Hawk Eye looked at her pleadingly. "Any help would be appreciated."

"If you can't beat ‘em, avoid ‘em," she said. "Stay out of the house as much as possible."

He shook his head. "My folks will catch on to that in nothing flat."

"Not if you cover it up with good intentions."

"And how can I do that?"

"Easy," Haruka said. "Get a part-time job."

"A ...." Hawk Eye paused, thinking.

Haruka leaned against the car. "Your parents can't object to _that_ ... it's a responsible thing to do. You'll get out of the house _and_ get some extra money." She smiled. "I got this job for many reasons. One is that I love working with cars, and I can't afford to buy a lot of them to play around with. This way, I get to work on all kinds. Another reason is for the money." She winked. "When you have a girlfriend like Michiru, you want to be able to escort her in ways to which she's become accustomed, you know?"

"Any other reasons?" Hawk Eye asked.

"Sure!" Haruka laughed. "To get out of the house! I love my sister, but sometimes Yui and I need breathing space from each other."

"But what kind of job could I get?" Hawk Eye asked. "I don't have any experience."

"You mind getting your hands dirty?"

"Depends, why?"

"I could get you a job here," Haruka offered. "You're right, you don't have the experience to work on cars, but you can pump gas. You'll get good tips, too. And when you're not busy, I can show you the mechanic's end of things so that eventually you _can_ work on cars."

Hawk Eye looked thoughtful. The getting dirty part wasn't very appealing, but the opportunity to get away from his cousins was priceless. "It sounds good to me, but I don't know. Tiger Eye and Fish Eye might think I'm abandoning them to the Quartet."

"Well, think about it, anyway. There's no rush." Haruka stretched. "Back to work for me! Here, take a look at this and I'll tell you what's wrong with it."

Hawk Eye leaned over the car with her and prepared to be educated.

\--

"Hey, Fishie, you look _great_!" Michiru said, admiring the white mini-dress Fish Eye was trying on. He studied himself in the mirror.

"It would look good with black tights, don't you think?" Fish Eye turned left and right. The sleeveless dress was form-fitting and as short as he could get away with. He wished he could magic it on at home on the way he had the outfit he'd arrived in, but so far that trick only seemed to work with clothes he already owned. He glanced at the price tag and winced. "I can't afford this on my own. I'd have to use my father's credit card number."

"Would he object?" Michiru asked.

"Over a dress I don't need? And a mini-dress at that? He'd freak!"

"But would you get to keep the dress?"

"Possibly," Fish Eye said thoughtfully. "If I play it right. I might have to pay it off with installments from my allowance until I'm twenty-one, though."

"Or you'll be grounded," Michiru suggested.

Fish Eye turned to her with a horrified look. "Oh no, don't say _that_! To be grounded with those little hellions coming would be a fate worse than death!"

"What _are_ you going to do?" Michiru followed Fish Eye to the changing rooms and stood outside them as he went in. "Not about the dress, but about your cousins."

"Choking them is against the law," Fish Eye said dryly. "Other than running away from home, what else can I do?"

"Well, Michiru said, "when I want to get away from Kurama, I usually take my sketchpad out for the day and work."

"I don't believe it."

"No, it's true, I just draw scenery and ...."

"I don't mean that, I mean that you actually want to get away from Kurama! He's such a sweetie."

Michiru laughed. "Not all the time! Especially not when he's in Youko form."

Fish Eye came out of the changing room with the dress over his arm. "I'll go pay for this and meet you outside."

Michiru's eyes twinkled. "Going to risk your father's wrath?"

"I'm hoping he'll feel guilty enough about his nieces' coming to let me have it," Fish Eye called over his shoulder.

"You'd better hope so." Michiru giggled. "Or he'll _really_ let you have it!"

A few minutes later, Fish Eye emerged from the store and the two of them decided to go for lunch. They went to the food court and got in line.

"So what was your point before, Michi?" Fish Eye asked. "About how you go out and paint or draw when you want to get away from your house? I already have ballet for a hobby...."

"Well, painting isn't a hobby for me, it's a job," Michiru said. "I sell my pieces and get paid, plus I have time away from my family when I need it."

"You think I should get a job?" Fish Eye said in surprise.

"Why not?" Michiru smiled as they stepped up to the counter. "It's a legitimate excuse to escape your cousins, and you'll have money enough to buy your own clothes."

"Papa would like _that_," Fish Eye admitted thoughtfully. "But what kind of job could _I_ get?"

The cashier in front of them looked at Fish Eye. "You know, our other store is hiring now. I can give you an application. You can fill it out and take it there later."

"Fast food?" Fish Eye said skeptically.

"It's not so bad once you get the hang of it," the cashier said, winking at him. "A pretty girl like you would probably do well as a hostess."

Fish Eye didn't bother correcting the boy's mistake. "Okay," he said grudgingly, "I guess it can't hurt to take an application."

"Don't sound so down, Fishie," Michiru said. "If you get the job, you'll have it made."

Fish Eye sighed as the application was placed in his hands. "Now I _know_ I'm desperate."

\--

Tiger Eye stuffed his hands in his pockets and tired not to let depression completely take him over as he walked past windows of a strip mall. Fish Eye and Hawk Eye were off with their friends, no doubt crying on their shoulders about the Amazoness' imminent arrival.

He shuddered as he recalled their last visit a few months earlier. They'd poked into he and his brothers' private belongings, went through their clothes, broken things, lied and stole. The crowning moment for him was when he'd been in tiger form and two of them had tried to ride on him while one of them pulled his tail and the fourth cracked a whip over him. Then _he_ got in trouble for giving the tail-puller a warning scratch. It wasn't fair.

He paused at the window of a pet store and smiled at the kittens that pressed their tiny paws against the glass. Cute little things, he thought. One of them chased a stuffed mouse to the other side of the cage, drawing Tiger Eye's attention to a sign in the window that now blocked the kitten from view.

‘Help Wanted'? Tiger Eye blinked. An idea slowly wormed its way into his mind. A job ... why not? What a perfect way to get out of the house on a regular basis! Of course, it would require doing actual _work_, but there were definitely advantages. And a pet shop, well, he could certainly relate to animals – he was a tiger, after all. He went in before he could change his mind.

A young woman looked up from behind the counter. "May I help you?"

Tiger Eye couldn't believe his luck. He turned on his best ladykiller smile. "I wanted to ask about the job," he said. "Is it part time?"

"Yes, you'd have to available day or evening." She looked him up and down. "How old are you?"

Tiger Eye's confidence faltered a little. "Sixteen," he admitted. "But I'm very responsible."

"You'd be available all summer?"

"Yes," Tiger Eye said. It wasn't as if he had any kind of social life there yet to occupy his time.

"Well, if you just came in off the street, you probably don't have a resume on you." The woman looked thoughtfully at him. "I have some time right now. Why don't you pull up that stool over there and we can talk."

Tiger Eye smiled.

\--

"Papa, _please_!"

"Please, nothing! Get over here, Fish Eye!"

"You think I'm crazy?!" Fish Eye darted around to the other side of the dining room table, his eyes fixed on the long-handled wooden spoon in Sanosuke's grip. His father began striding around the table, but Fish Eye quickly moved away, keeping enough table between them so that even Sanosuke's long reach couldn't touch him. Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye, seated at the table, watched with preoccupied amusement, while Nuriko walked between the kitchen and dining room, carrying in plates and bowls.

"Fish Eye, I could use your help," he said.

"I'm a little busy, Mama!" Fish Eye yelped, sprinting around the table once more as Sanosuke made a grab for him.

"Sagara Fish Eye, you aren't going to get away with this!" his father told him. "What made you think you could charge an expensive, revealing dress on my credit card?! And you've pulled down that shirt you're wearing and left your shoulders bare again!"

"Oh, Papa, don't be such a prude!" Fish Eye said. "I'm a boy, after all! I've got nothing on my upper body to hide!"

"That's irrelevant! You do that to look sexy and it's my job as your father to save you from yourself before you get into trouble you can't handle!" He lunged for Fish Eye again, but the half-fish grabbed the passing Nuriko and spun him around so he was between them. The buttered carrots in the bowl Nuriko was carrying flew out to splatter across Sanosuke's shirt.

"Fish Eye!" Nuriko exclaimed.

"Oops," Fish Eye said weakly.

Nuriko put the bowl down and turned toward Fish Eye, taking him by the shoulders. He then turned back around, positioning Fish Eye in front of Sanosuke, who steered his son firmly out of the dining room.

"No, this isn't fair!" Fish Eye could be heard protesting. "Papa, don't! Ow! WAHHH!"

"Pass the butter," Hawk Eye said to Tiger Eye.

\--

"You guys are beasts!" Fish Eye accused later. "Sitting by and letting me get spanked like that! Couldn't you have said something in my defense?!"

"Not if we wanted to _continue_ sitting." Tiger Eye grinned. "Come on, Fishie, you had that one coming."

Fish Eye pouted and massaged his bottom. "It still hurt."

Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye exchanged an amused glance. It was almost bedtime, and the three of them were gathered in Fish Eye's room to talk since he'd been banished there for the evening.

"So next time don't go using Papa's credit card without permission," Hawk Eye said. "Especially not on an outfit he'd never let you wear, anyway."

"I already heard the lecture, thank you," Fish Eye said grumpily.

Tiger Eye, who had been scanning the objects on Fish Eye's desk, picked up a piece of paper. "Hey, what's this?"

Hawk Eye glanced at it. "An application?"

Fish Eye snatched it away. "It's nothing!"

"But it's half filled-in already," Tiger Eye said, puzzled. "I didn't know you were job-hunting."

"I'm still thinking about it," Fish Eye admitted. He gazed down at the application. "I guess I thought it would be a good way to avoid the girls when they come. Would you guys mind?"

"Not me," Hawk Eye said with a sheepish grin. "To be honest, Haruka's looking into getting me a job at the garage."

"I guess we all had the same idea." Tiger Eye chuckled. "I had an interview at a pet store today."

"I'm not sure how Mama and Papa will feel about this," Fish Eye said. "Won't they suspect with all of us becoming so ambitious at once?"

"Probably," Hawk Eye replied. "But I think they'll be relieved, too. Mama would have lost his mind with all seven of us kids cooped up here together for the entire summer."

"When should we tell them?" Tiger Eye asked. "_After_ we get the jobs?"

"Definitely," Fish Eye answered. "It would be harder for them to say no after the fact."

"Besides, it would be a commitment then, and they wouldn't want us to be irresponsible." Hawk Eye sat up. "So it's agreed," he said, looking at his brothers, "none of us says a word until after we get jobs." He put his hand flat on the bedspread. Fish Eye placed his atop it, and Tiger Eye covered it with his own.

\--

End of part 2

(1998)

Character copyrights are too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Amazon Trio start their new jobs in an effort to avoid their visiting cousins, the Amazoness Quartet.

Trio Trials

Part 3

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

I'm a nervous wreck, Fish Eye thought as he pulled out his pocket mirror and straightened his Captain Chicken/Tacoz hat.

He had made it, he got the fast food job. It almost scared him how fast it all happened. The manager was in when he dropped off his resume, and he'd had an interview cancellation, so Fish Eye got to see him right away. The next day, he got the job.

He wasn't the only one. Tiger Eye had been hired by the pet store and Haruka called Hawk Eye with the good (?!) news that he was a gas jockey. Their parents were still blissfully unaware of their employment, and the Quartet were arriving sometime that day.

And he was a nervous wreck.

Don't be ridiculous, he told himself. This is fast food, not brain surgery. You can do it. He squared his shoulders and pulled on the handle of the store's front door. It was locked.

For a moment, Fish Eye panicked. What was he going to do?! Then he remembered what the manager told him and began searching the brickwork. There it was ... the doorbell. It was higher than a normal doorbell to keep kids from ringing it all day. Fish Eye reached for it and realized it was far too high. He sprang in place and tried to slap the button but couldn't quite make it. Again and again he jumped, but fell short each time. He could feel his hat slipping and his hair coming out of the ponytail. I look ridiculous, Fish Eye thought, feeling tears prick at his eyelashes. And I'm going to be late! He prepared for one last big jump.

"Would you like to come in?"

"Yahhhh!" Fish Eye exclaimed as he twisted in mid-air, landed wrong, and wound up on his butt on the sidewalk.

"Owwww!" he cried, and glared over at the source of the voice -- an attractive, black-haired boy with a long, thin ponytail.

"You okay?" the boy asked, offering Fish Eye a hand and pulling him up. He grinned. "We saw you through the window. You were pretty funny."

"So's your face," Fish Eye snapped, then realized this person was wearing a uniform as well, only his nametag had ‘supervisor' on it. "Ohhh ... I didn't mean that."

"It's okay." He winked. "I know it's not true, you're just blowing off steam. Come on inside."

Fish Eye preceded him in, the smell of grease, cooking chicken, and onions hitting him full in the face. He saw other uniformed workers chuckling from behind the counter. So they had all watched him and no one had come to help until the last minute? Nice.

"I'm Seiya Kou," the black-haired boy said. "Your name's Fish Eye, right?"

"Yes," he replied, trying to straighten his hair and hat without benefit of his mirror.

"Nice to have you aboard. I'm supervising today. Yaten over there is doing taco stuff, Taiki is doing chicken, Kuwabara is cooking in the back there, and Tamahome is the cashier."

Fish Eye managed a polite nod to everyone, but was secretly grateful for their nametags as he'd already forgotten who they were.

"For the first couple of days, you'll be working on the Captain's side with Taiki, you'll be shown some stuff on Tacoz side, then we'll start training you on cash."

Fish Eye didn't say he was in no hurry to face the customers, but he couldn't help thinking it.

\--

"Thanks! Come again!"

Haruka grinned as Hawk Eye waved to the customer pulling away. "You're doing great, you know. They really like you."

"How can you tell?" Hawk Eye asked, looking at her curiously.

"Because you're making more in tips than I did when I pumped gas." She laughed, nodding at the money in Hawk Eye's hand.

"I'm glad it's working out -- I got this job just in time." Hawk Eye stuffed the money into his pocket.

"How's Tiger Eye doing at his new job?"

"This is his second day. He says it's kind of quiet there."

"Quiet?" Haruka said skeptically. "In a pet store?"

Hawk Eye laughed. "Well, the animals aren't quiet, but there aren't usually a lot of people. Gives him time to get his work done, I guess."

"Fish Eye won't have _that_ problem, I promise you that." Haruka grinned. "Captain Chicken/Tacoz is a busy place, especially over lunch."

"Fish Eye says it's called a two-in-one because of the two companies' products being sold in the same place."

"Yeah, there are plenty of Captain Chicken restaurants and tons of Tacoz around, but they merged or someone bought both chains." Haruka looked at an approaching car. "Customer," she said, then did a double-take. "Uh oh. Hawk Eye, don't look now, but -- "

"Hawk Eye?" Nuriko stuck his head out the window and looked at his son, puzzled. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, Mama, um ...." Hawk Eye stammered. "It's like this ...."

"I was just on my way to get some groceries for the girls' arrival and needed some gas," Nuriko said. "You know, honey, you really shouldn't be bothering Haruka at work."

Haruka and Hawk Eye glanced at each other. "Uh, the thing is, Mama," Hawk Eye swallowed, "that I'm working here, too."

Nuriko blinked. "You are? Since when?"

"Yesterday," Hawk Eye admitted.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Nuriko said in confusion. A car honked behind him and he yelled back, "Shut up! I'm talking to my son!"

"Maybe we could talk later?" Hawk Eye suggested.

"Sure." Nuriko smiled. "You know, I think it's a fine thing, your showing initiative like this. I'm proud of you, and I'm sure your father will be, too."

"I'll get your gas," Hawk Eye said hastily.

When his mother finally pulled away with a goodbye beep of the horn, Haruka leaned toward him. "He took that very well, I thought."

"That's because right now he thinks it's just me being responsible." Hawk Eye sighed. "When he finds out Fish Eye and Tiger Eye took quickie jobs too, he'll _know_ the real reason and we'll hear about it in spades."

\-- 

"Here, bunny, bunny, bunny." Tiger Eye peered under the table and knew right away the object of his search wasn't there. "Where are you, you stupid rabbit?!" he shouted.

It didn't matter if he was loud -- there was no one else in the pet shop but he and the animals. It was a busy strip mall they were situated in for sure, but most traffic was seen by the large grocery store at one end or the even bigger discount store at the other end. He was closer to the discount store, with a video rental place and a wine-making shop between them.

Tiger Eye had made a success of his first day by selling a puppy. That's where the store made its money, by over-inflating prices. The pup cost over three hundred dollars there, whereas Tiger Eye knew that buying it through a breeder would have cost only half that. But he wasn't going to question the policies of his employers -- he was grateful just to have the job.

At first he thought the lack of traffic in the store would bother him, but it was actually a good thing when it came to the daily chore of cleaning the cages. Except when one of his charges managed to skitter out of reach, like the little brown lop-eared rabbit he was tailing. He grimaced as he discovered a little trail of bunny-leavings, but followed it to where the animal crouched behind an empty fish tank.

"There you are! Come here!" He reached down and managed to snatch the rabbit just as it was trying to leap away. Before he could react, the furry animal's big hind feet raked down his right wrist, leaving a bloody trail.

"AAAHHHHH!!!!" Tiger Eye screamed and charged for the front of the store. He dropped the rabbit into its cage unceremoniously and ran toward the sink. The cold water running over his open scratches stung enough to bring tears to his eyes. That rabbit was damned lucky he wouldn't scar, he thought furiously. Who'd have thought something so soft and innocent-looking could draw blood?!

The jingle of the bell over the door signaled the arrival of a customer. Tiger Eye tried to put on a pleasant expression by imagining what rabbit stew tasted like as he turned toward the newcomer. At first he saw no one there. A soft slurping sound drew his attention downward, and he saw a child of no more than six sucking on a lollipop and gazing up at him.

"Um, hello," Tiger Eye said. "May I ... help you?"

"Momma said to wait here for her while she went shoppin'," the child said, and wandered over to look at the kittens. Tiger Eye stared after him in dismay. An unescorted child in the store? He hadn't finished cleaning the cages yet and would have to go into the back. But if he left the kid alone and he got bitten or scratched, the store would be responsible. Tiger Eye said a sarcastic, silent thank you to the woman who'd made him an unwilling babysitter.

The kid started to poke his lollipop through the bars of the rabbit cage.

"Hey, don't do that!" Tiger Eye cried. The child jumped, dropping his sucker, which landed on the back of the brown, lop-earred rabbit.

"WAHHHHHH!!!!" the boy began to cry.

"WAHHHHHH!!!!" Tiger Eye echoed as he envisioned himself fishing out the lollipop and cleaning candy off the killer bunny.

\--

Nuriko stuffed his grocery bags into the car and locked it. He'd noticed some snack foods on sale in the discount store's flier and decided to walk over and pick some up rather than drive across the strip mall parking lot. He headed along the walk and smiled to see Zoisite coming toward him.

"Well, hello there!" Nuriko greeted. "Nice day, isn't it?"

"Beautiful," Zoisite agreed, adjusting the bag in his arms. "Your nieces are arriving today, aren't they?"

"That's right, I was just going up to get some of the chips and things they have on sale."

Zoisite nodded. "I just bought a bunch here, myself. With Haruka and Yui, not to mention Kunzite, I can't keep snack food in the house!"

Nuriko laughed. "Try feeding my boys sometime -- they're animals!"

Zoisite chuckled. "Speaking of your boys, I saw Tiger Eye in the pet store having a hard time. How long has he been working there?"

"Huh?" Nuriko replied. "I don't understand."

"Isn't Tiger Eye working in the pet store over there?" Zoisite gestured behind him. "He was sitting in a chair with a rabbit in his lap, rubbing its back with a facecloth."

Nuriko looked puzzled. "I don't know ... I only just found out that Hawk Eye is working at Haruka's gas station, but I didn't know Tiger Eye had a job as well."

"Maybe he was keeping it as a surprise," Zoisite said. "Anyway, I have to go. I'm picking Yui up at the library and I'm late."

"Sure, Zoi, see you later." Nuriko continued on his way, but paused by the pet store window and peered inside. Sure enough, there was Tiger Eye, struggling to hold a rabbit still as he swiped at it with a facecloth. Nuriko went inside.

"Ow, damn it!" Tiger Eye exclaimed. "At this rate you'll have my legs in ribbons, too, you nasty little beast!"

"Tiger Eye?"

The teenager looked up in surprise. "Mama!"

"What are you doing here?" Nuriko asked.

"I ... um ...." Tiger Eye looked down at the rabbit. "I'm working here. I just started."

Nuriko scratched his head. "This is all very curious. First I discover Hawk Eye pumping gas and now this."

"Well, it's okay for us to have jobs, isn't it?" Tiger Eye asked, trying to smile.

"Of course, it's just rather sudden for both of you to be working and not to have mentioned it."

Tiger Eye cleaned the last bit of candy off the rabbit's fur and deposited it back in its cage. He looked down at his scratched legs in dismay. "I'm never wearing shorts to work again."

"Tiger Eye," Nuriko said slowly, "there isn't anything else about this you want to tell me, is there?"

"No, Mama. I just was bored sitting around all day, I haven't really made any friends, you know. Hawk Eye _is_ friends with Haruka and probably wanted to spend time with her while making money."

"Maybe," Nuriko said thoughtfully. "At least I don't have to wonder if Fish Eye has a job -- he already has friends and ballet as well."

"Y-Yeah, but he might want extra money ... you know ... so Papa won't throw a fit when he buys a new dress ...."

Nuriko stared at Tiger Eye. "Do you know something I don't know?"

Tiger Eye knew better than to push his luck any further. It was only a matter of time before their full secret was discovered anyway -- better his mother unleash his wrath at Fish Eye than him.

"Mama, I have to get back to work. If you want to know what Fish Eye's doing, maybe you should stop by Captain Chicken/Tacoz on the way home."

Nuriko studied him closely. "Maybe I'll just do that." He headed for the door, and looked back. "But Tiger Eye, if what I'm beginning to suspect is true, all three of you will have a lot to answer for later."

Tiger Eye gulped as the door closed behind Nuriko. For a moment, he wondered if avoiding the Quartet was worth the trouble he and his siblings were about to be in. Then he remembered their last visit and decided some things were worse than angry parents and vicious rabbits.

\--

"Drop some fries, Fish Eye."

"I already did!" Fish Eye wailed, looking at the french fries scattered across the floor.

"Get some from the freezer and put them in the fryer," Taiki replied, sounding calm despite the multiple orders appearing on the overhead monitor. Fish Eye didn't want to be the cause of slowing things down so he rushed to do as Taiki said.

"I need some fries over here!" Yaten snapped from over on Tacoz side.

"There's a wait," Taiki answered. Fish Eye felt his face redden as he lowered the fry-filled basket into the fryer.

Fries, fries, fries. Fish Eye swore if he survived this job he'd never eat another french fry again in his life. Lunch had only been going on for half an hour and he already couldn't believe the amount of grease the general public consumed. He also couldn't believe how unflappable Taiki, Seiya, and Tamahome seemed to be. He could see Tamahome at the cash taking order after order, smiling at every customer, focusing his attention to make them each feel special, even as they were lined up to the door. Seiya darted between packing orders, handing them out, and taking money over at drive-thru, but also managed to stay polite and focused. Kuwabara kept mostly to himself in the back cooking, but he gave Fish Eye a shy smile whenever he looked his way. Yaten, on the other hand, was anything but nice or polite. He seemed to throw fits every two minutes, somehow working them in between making tacos and mexifries. If he ran out of chicken or beef, he'd announce it like it was the customers' fault he had to make more. Taiki explained to Fish Eye that Yaten was just making sure Tamahome and Seiya knew not to sell those products before they were prepared, but to him, Yaten still sounded annoyed by it all.

"Are those fries ready yet?!" Yaten called out.

"Should be almost up." Taiki glanced toward the fryers and a strange look crossed his face. "Fish Eye, did you set the timer on those fries?"

Fish Eye gasped. "No, I forgot!" He ran over and lifted the fry basket, but couldn't tell if the contents were fully cooked or not.

"Put them down for another thirty seconds," Taiki advised. "They're coming, Yaten!" he called back.

"Two Big Munches!" Tamahome announced over his shoulder.

"Huh?" Fish Eye said in utter confusion.

"Drop about three Big Munches," Taiki said as he glanced at the monitor and began packing a chicken meal in a take-out box. "Tamahome is telling us that we need two Big Munch sandwiches. They take a long time to cook, so if there aren't enough in the heater, we'll need the extra seconds."

Fish Eye struggled with the plastic bag containing the frozen sandwich patties and finally managed to slice it with his long fingernail.

"Don't forget to use the tongs!" Taiki reminded him.

The tongs, right. They weren't supposed to touch the food with their hands except on Tacoz side where everyone sanitized before doing anything. There were three sets of tongs -- two for sandwiches and chicken over where Taiki was working and another pair strictly for frozen food that had a rubber band around them as a marker. Fish Eye opened the freezer again and searched desperately for the tongs, but didn't see them anywhere. He glanced over at Taiki and saw that he was concentrating on sorting out a difficult order so he didn't want to disturb him, but ....

"Hey, where are those fries?!" Yaten called.

Oh no! Fish Eye discarded the bag of Munch sandwiches to the freezer and lifted the fryer basket. The fries looked like they'd spent two hours under a sun lamp.

"Better drop more fries, Fish Eye," Taiki said calmly. "Don't forget the timer."

Tears pricked his eyes as Fish Eye quickly threw out the overdone fries and carefully dumped fresh ones into the basket, pressing the correct timer button. It was then he remembered the Munch sandwiches and he went back into the freezer, grabbing the bag. He forgot about the slit he'd made in it and four frozen sandwich patties fell out onto the floor. He bent down to pick them up and spotted the tongs on the lowest level of the freezer. How did they get way down there?!

"Kid pack nuggets!" Tamahome announced.

Fish Eye didn't need to be told what to do this time -- he grabbed the bag of nuggets and overturned it into the fryer basket, then dropped it into the oil, splashing a drop onto his hand.

"Ow!" he cried, and pressed the timer button. Damn, he still hadn't dropped the sandwiches! He snatched the tongs and used them to take out three Munch patties, quickly lowering them into the fryer. The timer on the fries went off and he lifted, shook them, and dumped them into the fry bin, where Taiki finally scooped some out to pass over to the impatiently-waiting Yaten.

Fish Eye was about to go help Taiki with the sandwiches when he caught sight of someone staring at him from the other side of the front counter. "Mama!" he cried.

Nuriko motioned Fish Eye over, but Taiki had already pushed a sandwich on a plate toward him. "Add fries to that," he said and went on to the next order.

Fish Eye gave his mother a pleading look for understanding and promptly ignored him as he followed Taiki's instructions. The next time he looked up, Nuriko was gone. Can my day get any worse? He thought, then sighed. Oh yeah, the Quartet are coming ....

\--

Nuriko pulled into the driveway behind the van and realized that if Sanosuke was home, that meant --

"Aunt Nuriko!"

He opened his arms and was nearly bowled over by four colourful, exuberant young girls. He'd know them anywhere from their elaborate hairstyles that included accessories like bamboo extensions, baubles, large jeweled bands and big ribbons. Their hair and eyes corresponded with the colour of clothing each girl favoured. They hadn't grown much in height since he last saw them, all four being petite as becoming their Amazon heritage, but their bodies had developed enough so that their revealing native clothing made him do a double take. He could just imagine Sano trying to stop Fish Eye from wearing off-the-shoulder shirts while the Quartet were running around in these harem girl outfits.

Not the time to get into it, he decided. "Girls, it's so good to see you!" he said warmly, hugging them. 

"It's great to be here!" Ves Ves piped up first in her typical way of leadership. She had a whip tucked under one arm and seemed perfectly comfortable in a red halter and harem pants that left little to the imagination.

"Our plane was on time, imagine that," added Cere Cere, the one in pink and yellow whom always struck Nuriko as a society-girl wannabe. She already had the superior attitude down pat, now all she needed was the money. Maybe she'd grow a money tree, since botany was her other passion and talent.

"Do the guys have a car of their own yet? I'm learning to drive," green-haired Jun Jun said, looking around the driveway. Nuriko wondered how the little Amazoness tomboy could see over the steering wheel and vowed to keep the car keys out of sight.

"Palla Palla is hungry! May we help you carry in the groceries?" The fourth Amazoness, who always seemed smaller and younger than the others, was already crawling into the back seat of the car, the rear of her blue bodysuit sticking out the door. She apparently hadn't graduated from referring to herself by her given name in a child-like manner, but that was okay with Nuriko as long as she kept control over her unusual toys this time.

"Certainly you may help, and then I'll prepare something special for lunch," Nuriko said.

"Where are the boys?" Jun Jun asked. "I thought they'd be here."

"So did I," Sanosuke said grimly as he joined them.

"They'll be here later," Nuriko answered, giving Sanosuke a private we-need-to-talk look. "In the meantime, let's go in and get caught up, okay, girls?"

The Amazoness Quartet chattered happily amongst themselves as they brought the groceries into the house. Sanosuke and Nuriko exchanged a glance behind them.

"What's going on with the boys?" Sano asked. "If they're hiding because of the girls ...."

"They are and they're not," Nuriko said. "I'll explain as soon as the girls are settled in."

\--

"Are we having fun yet?" Fish Eye asked Seiya wearily. There were no more orders on the monitor, and no one was waiting at front cash or drive-thru. Only a handful of customers were left eating in the dining room, and the employees were catching their breath after the busy lunch.

Seiya laughed. "Kind of a culture shock being behind the counter, isn't it?"

"I never realized before how hard it is to _do_ everything in fast food," Fish Eye admitted. "It has to be fast, but also hot and accurate and you can't waste stuff --"

"Like Munches and fries all over the floor," Yaten said dryly.

"Like the tray of nachos you dropped last week, Yaten?" Taiki pointed out significantly. "Fish Eye's doing fine for a beginner."

Yaten shrugged. "Hey, Seiya's the supervisor. He's the one who has to answer for the waste, not me." He headed back over to the Tacoz side.

Tamahome leaned close to Fish Eye. "Wouldn't know they were brothers, would you?"

"Who?" Fish Eye said in surprise. "Yaten and Taiki?"

"_And_ Seiya," Tamahome answered. "The only thing they have in common is a hairstyle."

"Well," Fish Eye said thoughtfully, "my brothers and I aren't exactly alike, either." Thinking about Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye made him wonder how they were faring at _their_ new jobs.

"Penny for your thoughts." Seiya grinned at him.

"Oh, my brothers started jobs recently, too. I was just hoping they'd done better than I have."

"Hey, don't let Yaten get to you." Seiya draped an arm across Fish Eye's shoulders. "He's like that with everybody. Besides," he winked, "you're cute enough to be competition for him with customers and he knows it."

"Competition?" Fish Eye repeated, wishing Seiya would remove his arm. It was lingering just a little too long.

"Fish Eye?"

He looked up at the sound of his name and smiled brightly for the first time in hours. "Hawk Eye!" He deserted Seiya and ran to the front counter where Hawk Eye stood with Haruka. "What are you two doing here?"

"We're on lunch break, so we thought we'd get something to eat and check up on you at the same time." Hawk Eye looked past Fish Eye at Seiya as he approached.

"You have visitors, Fish Eye?" he said pointedly.

"This is my brother, Hawk Eye, and our friend Haruka," Fish Eye explained. "This is Seiya, my supervisor."

"Seiya and I know each other," Haruka said, not sounding at all happy about it as Seiya gave her a cocky grin.

"We go to school together," Seiya agreed. "We'll probably have you and your brothers there, too, Fish Eye." He smiled at the Changechild. "I guess I'm lucky to have met you before the masses at school got a look at you."

Fish Eye felt himself blushing, but at the same time couldn't help noticing that both Haruka and Hawk Eye looked less than impressed. Fish Eye knew what Hawk Eye's problem was -- he'd seen Seiya with his arm around him -- but Haruka he didn't understand. The way she was glaring at Seiya suggested a background story he was unaware of.

"You guys are probably on limited time," Tamahome stepped in tactfully. "Why don't you tell me what you'd like for lunch and we'll get it ready."

Fish Eye relaxed as Hawk Eye and Haruka made their decisions. He was about to go help prepare the meals when Hawk Eye motioned him over.

"What is it?" Fish Eye asked.

"I just wanted to warn you that Mama found out about my job -- he came by the gas station."

Fish Eye put a hand over his mouth. "Oh oh! He was here, too! He looked like he wanted to nail me right then, but I was too busy to stop."

"Probably just as well for you," Hawk Eye said, glancing over at Seiya. "Look, we'll talk more at home, okay?"

"Sure," Fish Eye said uneasily, and went back to drop more fries.

\--

"I see," Sanosuke said, his jaw set. "So our sons -- the same ones who must be threatened with bodily harm to get them to do their chores -- have taken on outside jobs."

"Coincidental, isn't it?" Nuriko said. "It would be one thing if they were glamorous jobs that interested them, but fast food for Fish Eye? During vacation when he could be devoting extra hours to ballet, swimming, or shopping?"

"And cleaning animal cages for Tiger Eye." Sanosuke shook his head. "I have a hard time even imagining that."

"Now granted, Hawk Eye likes cars and Haruka is a good friend of his. But in view of the others, it's just too suspicious."

"Suspicious nothing, it's obvious what they're doing," Sano said grimly. "They're trying to avoid being home with their cousins."

"I know." Nuriko sighed. "It'll be obvious to the girls, too, and to your brother when he hears about it. I can't believe they'd be so rude!"

"And so smart," Sanosuke admitted.

Nuriko nodded. "They've put us in a position where we have to openly accuse them of something we can't prove. Other parents would be proud that their children are showing such initiative."

"But all at once?!" Sanosuke said dryly. "I'm sorry, but our boys aren't that ambitious!"

"Tell me about it." Nuriko sighed. "So what do we do?"

"Confront them," Sanosuke said firmly. "We'll tell them we know exactly what they're up to."

"And make them quit?"

"No. If they're so determined to have two-bit jobs, let them suffer through them for as long as it lasts, and I don't give it long."

"Well, the boys are pretty stubborn," Nuriko said thoughtfully. "But a dose of real life might be enough to make being home with their cousins look good."

\--

Four pairs of bright eyes withdrew from their vantage point around the living room doorway.

"So our loving cousins want to see us so much that they got jobs, huh?" Ves Ves sneered.

"Can you imagine?" Cere Cere shook her head. "Fast food? Animal cages? How tacky!"

"Hawk Eye's working with cars, huh?" Jun Jun pondered aloud. "He got lucky."

"Palla Palla is mad at them," their blue-haired sister stated. "They won't be here to play with."

"I think that's the general idea," Ves Ves said in a dry tone. She drew herself up, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Well, girls, they can't avoid us all the time, but when they do, we can always entertain ourselves, right?"

"Right!" Jun Jun grinned.

"Which reminds me," Cere Cere remarked, "I haven't been in Fish Eye's closet yet."

"Palla Palla wants to play dress-up, too!"

"I'll be in Hawk Eye's room!" Jun Jun announced. "He probably has the latest issues of Car Craze in there somewhere."

"If Tiger Eye has any magazine issues in _his_ room, they'll be the kind that fold out in the centre." Cere Cere made a face.

"We'll find out," Ves Ves stated with a wink. "They can't blame us for snooping if they're not here to prevent it."

"Yeah, and besides, if we can't visit with them in person, how else are we supposed to know what they're up to these days?" Jun Jun laughed and she and her sisters ran upstairs.

\--

End of part 3

(1998)

Character copyrights are too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Trio are confronted by their parents about their new jobs, and Fish Eye is asked out by someone of whom his brothers don't approve.

Trio Trials

Part 4

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

My feet are killing me, Fish Eye thought, groaning inwardly. I don't usually hurt like this even after hours of ballet practice.

"Hey, Fish Eye, how are you getting home?" Seiya asked.

The Shifter removed his hat and hoped his hair didn't look too disgusting after a day amongst the grease. "The bus, I guess," he replied absently.

"I saw your application, so I know where you live. It's not that far from our house." Seiya grinned. "We'll take you home. The night staff is coming on, so we're all free."

"Oh, I don't know ...." Fish Eye knew he'd have a lot of explaining to do as it was ... if his father saw him getting out of a vehicle containing three strange boys, he was sushi.

Seiya touched his shoulder and met his eyes. "What's the problem, your parents?" He smiled. "If it makes you feel better, we can drop you a couple doors down from your house."

Fish Eye couldn't help noticing what a deep shade of blue Seiya's eyes were - like a clear, starry night. His delayed brain finally registered what his supervisor was saying. "I ... I guess that would be okay."

"Good." Seiya winked. "After all, you must be pretty worn out. You don't need the bus on top of that."

Fish Eye couldn't argue with him. Besides, his evening promised to be as tumultuous as his day had been due to the Quartet's arrival and his parents' knowledge of his employment.

Yaten and Taiki headed toward them. "Come on, Seiya, what's keeping you?" Yaten said with an annoyed look in Fish Eye's direction.

"Nothing, but we're taking a little detour to bring Fish Eye home," Seiya said.

Tamahome approached, zipping up his jacket. "Fish Eye, do you need a lift? You came by bus this morning, right?"

"I did, but ...."

"Tough luck, Tama-chan." Yaten smirked. "Seiya already offered."

"Thank you, though," Fish Eye managed to say.

Tamahome smiled. "Hey, that's okay. I just wanted to make sure a pretty boy like you wouldn't be standing out there at the bus stop in the dark."

"My thoughts exactly," Seiya piped up. He grinned at Fish Eye, who coloured, prompting Seiya's grin to widen while Yaten gave a derisive snort. Fish Eye cursed his fair complexion that showed a blush so readily and further cursed his inability to _keep_ from blushing. Seiya was enjoying his embarrassment, the fiend, while Tamahome had tactfully nodded a goodbye and left to go to his car.

"Come ooon, I wanna get outta heeeere ...," Yaten whined.

"Let's go then." Seiya held the door open for Fish Eye, who waved goodbye to Kuwabara before going outside.

The Kou brothers' vehicle turned out to be a comfortable van. Taiki did the driving while Yaten claimed the front seat, leaving Fish Eye alone in the back with Seiya. Taiki asked him questions about where he'd lived before and what his school was like -- he answered politely and honestly. Yaten twisted in his seat to look back at him.

"Who was that hunk who came to talk to you earlier? The one with Haruka?"

"That was my brother, Hawk Eye," he replied. "I have another brother, Tiger Eye. He's working in a pet store in some strip mall near here."

"Pet store?" Taiki said. "Yaten probably knows it, then. He knows all of them."

"Yaten loves animals," Seiya murmured to Fish Eye. "He gets along with them better than he gets along with people."

Fish Eye wasn't so sure about that. _He_ was part animal, and Yaten didn't do a thing for him, other than make him feel like an intruder.

Seiya caught sight of something out the window. "Hey, there's Haruka's car! Floor it, Taiki, let's race to the corner!"

"Forget it," Taiki said calmly. "Even if it weren't illegal to drag race, I wouldn't want to take on a professional racer like her."

"Especially not in a van," Yaten added.

Seiya sighed. "Oh, all right ... hey, Fish Eye, what are you doing?"

"Hiding!" Fish Eye hissed from his new and uncomfortable position on the floor. "Hawk Eye is probably in that car with Haruka!"

"So what?" Seiya said. "If he can ride with her, why can't you ride with us?"

"It's just ... that is ... I mean ... oh, it's just different!" Fish Eye exclaimed. He peeked out the window. "There's my house a few doors down! Could you stop here?"

"All right." Taiki pulled over and Fish Eye took another look. He saw Hawk Eye waving to Haruka then heading up the driveway. He paused on the doorstep, then finally went inside.

"He didn't look like he wanted to go in," Yaten remarked.

"There's a reason. Thanks for the ride, guys." Fish Eye started to get out, but Seiya put a hand on his arm so that he looked at him.

"It's been a great first day, Fish Eye." He smiled. "See you tomorrow."

Fish Eye didn't point out that it hadn't been a particularly great day for him ... and he couldn't even be sure he _would_ see them tomorrow. If his parents didn't outright kill him, they just might make him quit. "Bye for now," he managed and quickly got out of the van. He walked past two houses and then turned up his driveway, just in time to see Tiger Eye get off the bus at the opposite corner. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the van turn around and drive the other way.

"Hey, Fishie!" Tiger Eye waved and jogged over to meet him at the front door. "You just getting back, too?"

"Yes." Fish Eye said, then gasped as he caught sight of Tiger Eye's bandaged wrist. "What happened?!"

His blonde brother made a face. "Oh, a stupid rabbit scratched me. It got me on my legs, too." His expression changed and Fish Eye thought he looked vaguely guilty. "Um, Fishie, did Mama come by your store?"

Fish Eye frowned slightly. "Yes, but how did you know?"

Tiger Eye stared at the ground, scuffing his sneaker against the welcome mat. "I ... sort of ... sent him there."

"You what?! Why?"

"Mostly to get him away from me before he figured things out," Tiger Eye admitted. "Are you mad at me?"

"I should be." Fish Eye pouted. "You sold me out! And Mama had already been to Hawk Eye before me, did you know that?"

"Yes," Tiger Eye said. "So they know about all of us now ... they must have figured out our motives."

"Well, I've got news for you, Tigger. Mama didn't yell at me when he found me at Captain Chicken/Tacoz because I didn't have time to let him. So the Big Lecture is still to come."

They turned to look at the front door. It loomed like the Gateway to Hell.

"Hawk Eye's already inside," Fish Eye said.

"Is he?" Tiger Eye replied. "He probably figured we were home, too."

"You know," Fish Eye said thoughtfully, "if we were to ... disappear for a while ... maybe they'd yell at him and be too worn out to bother with us when we came back."

"Sounds like a plan, let's get outta here."

The pair spun around to leave. A creak behind them froze them in their tracks.

"Well, you're finally back," came their father's voice. "Please. Come in and stay a while."

It was a command, not a request. Shoulders slumping, Fish Eye and Tiger Eye trudged into the house.

Fish Eye looked up as they entered the living room. Together they shuddered at the sight.

"YAAAAAY! You're here!"

Fish Eye wanted to turn tail and run from the thundering herd of little girls coming straight at him, but with Sanosuke blocking the doorway behind him, it was impossible. He was tackled to the ground, and from Tiger Eye's sudden shout, he was suffering the same fate.

"Thank God," Fish Eye heard Hawk Eye say weakly. "Someone else for them to maul."

"Hawk Eye!" Nuriko admonished, but the Quartet didn't seem to notice. They had all stopped and were looking at Fish Eye and Tiger Eye suspiciously.

"What's that icky smell?" Cere Cere asked, her nose wrinkling.

"It's almost like ... grease," Ves Ves remarked.

The blue-haired girl bent down to sniff at Fish Eye. "Palla Palla thinks it's _him_!"

Fish Eye was mortified. It was bad enough that stray cats could smell the slight fish odour that clung to him even in human form, but now he had to smell like _greasy_ fish! "Get off of me if you think it's so bad!" he snapped, shoving his way up off the ground, dropping Cere Cere and Palla Palla onto Tiger Eye. He ran upstairs, ignoring his father's angry shout. No matter what the consequences, he wasn't showing his face again until after he'd rid himself of all traces of Captain Chicken.

The shower felt great; it was a relief to let the hot water relax his tired muscles. When he was done, he wrapped one towel around his long hair and another around his waist, then headed for his room. He wasn't sure if he was better off delaying his reappearance as long as possible or hurrying it along lest his parents grow angrier. In the end, he decided he'd just grab something casual to put on for the time being.

As soon as he entered his room, Fish Eye knew something was wrong. The closet door was open, and he _never_ left it open in case Nuriko complained about the mess it was in. Okay, he told himself, so maybe Mama hung up some laundry and he forgot to close it. Even as he tried to make himself believe it, he knew that wasn't the case. Two of his sweaters had been left in a heap on the bed, a pair of slacks were slung across the headboard, and he nearly tripped over his own mismatched shoes as he rushed to the closet. Inside were several more empty hangers than there had been when he left the house.

"I'm gonna kill ‘em," Fish Eye growled.

\--

"It's not Fishie's fault, Papa," Hawk Eye said, shooting the Quartet an accusing look. "You know how sensitive he is about his scent already, and to be told he smells like grease ...."

"Well, he did!" Jun Jun interrupted, her hands on her hips. "It was an honest observation!"

"No one cares about your ‘observations'!" Tiger Eye countered.

"You've got the most sensitive nose! Are you saying he didn't smell like grease?" Ves Ves asked.

"We're saying it didn't matter enough to hurt his feelings!"

"Okay, that's enough!" Nuriko told them firmly. "We're not starting off with a lot of shouting and accusations."

"You went through my closet, you nosy little snoops!" Fish Eye shouted accusingly as he stomped into the room.

"They did?" Tiger Eye exclaimed.

"Already?" Hawk Eye added.

"We didn't hurt anything," Cere Cere said calmly, examining her nails. "We were just looking."

"Then where did two of my dresses, one of my sweaters, three skirts, and a pair of designer jeans disappear to?!" Fish Eye demanded.

"How should we know?" Palla Palla giggled. "We just got here!"

Sanosuke grabbed Fish Eye before he could commit murder in the living room.

"I'll bet you went in our rooms, too!" Hawk Eye accused.

"Don't worry, we didn't try on your clothes," Ves Ves said, then reconsidered. "Well, maybe Jun Jun did ...."

"Why, you little bi ...."

"Hawk Eye!" Sanosuke interrupted sharply. "Fish Eye, you sit down." He pushed him firmly onto the sofa beside Hawk Eye. Tiger Eye went over to join his siblings, while the Quartet formed a not-so-innocent-looking group in front of the fireplace. Sanosuke and Nuriko stood between the two groups like negotiators at a world peace conference.

"All right," Sanosuke began, "first of all, I'm very disappointed in you boys. Your cousins just arrived and you didn't even say hello before you began accusing them of causing trouble."

"Gotta be a new record for sure," Tiger Eye remarked.

"I'm glad you're finding this amusing, young man, because we certainly are not," Nuriko said sternly. "We're not going to let this visit turn into an ongoing war. It ends right now."

The Trio all began talking at once while the Quartet exchanged sly glances. Finally, Sanosuke drew himself up to his impressive full height and glared down at his sons.

"Enough!" he bellowed.

The boys fell into sulky silence. They knew when their father was fed up.

"One thing at a time," he said. "First of all, I want you to apologize to your cousins for your rudeness."

There was no point in arguing -- the result would be the same.

"Sorry," the boys mumbled.

"That's _not_ what your father means," Nuriko said significantly. "Apologize properly."

Fish Eye opened his mouth to protest, but caught the warning look in his mother's eyes. One wrong move and he might get spanked in front of his cousins and nothing was worth that humiliation. He rose from the couch and got down on his knees, then stretched out in the lowest bow he could manage.

"I humbly apologize for my rudeness," you brats, he added silently.

Their parents looked toward Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye expectantly, and the other boys reluctantly followed Fish Eye's example.

"Well," Ves Ves said thoughtfully, gazing down at their prone cousins, "I guess we can forgive them. What do you think, girls?"

"Yeah, why not?" Jun Jun shrugged.

"After all," Cere Cere said, "we're not petty."

"Palla Palla wants to play video games," their smaller sister piped up.

"Not yet," Nuriko said. "Boys, you can get up."

His sons gratefully stood up, resisting the urge to give the girls a dirty look.

"Now then," Sanosuke said, "it's your turn, girls."

"Huh?" Jun Jun blinked.

"Our turn for what, Uncle Sanosuke?" Cere Cere asked in genuine confusion.

"It's your turn to apologize to the boys for violating their privacy," Nuriko said.

The Trio stared at their parents in wonder, hardly daring to believe it could be true. The girls started up a round of protests.

"We didn't do anything!"

"Why should we apologize?"

"Palla Palla doesn't like this game!"

"This isn't fair!"

"You've admitted to going through the boys' possessions," Nuriko pointed out. "You owe them an apology."

The Quartet conferred quietly, then Ves Ves said, "Okay, we'll apologize, but we're not getting on the floor to do it."

"If you can't apologize properly then you'll have to be punished," Sanosuke told them.

Fish Eye grinned at his brothers, who were already beaming. The Quartet being punished.? A previously unheard-of concept!

The girls were aghast and stared at their aunt and uncle as if they were speaking ancient Martian. "You'd do that?" Jun Jun exclaimed. "On our first day? Seriously?"

Nuriko nodded. "Yes, we're quite serious. You girls are going to be here a while, and with seven children in the house we can't allow any favouritism. You have to live by the same rules and consequences as the boys do."

Go, Mama! Fish Eye silently cheered.

The four girls seemed frustrated and at a loss. After another hushed conference, they lowered themselves to the ground.

"We apologize for invading your privacy," Ves Ves said.

"Yeah," Jun Jun agreed.

"I ... I'm sorry," Cere Cere murmured.

"Palla Palla won't do it again."

The boys exchanged mischievous looks. The girls couldn't get up until they were forgiven, and they all wondered exactly how long they could keep them down there.

"Boys ...," Sanosuke said warningly.

Rats, Fish Eye thought. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

"Okay, we accept," he said.

"Yeah," Hawk Eye agreed, "just stay out of our stuff from now on."

The girls stood up, pouting.

"All right, now maybe you can all start over with a clean slate," Sanosuke said with satisfaction. "If you girls wouldn't mind going upstairs now, we need to speak with the boys alone."

The Quartet filed out of the room, glancing back at the boys with you're-gonna-get-it looks. Nuriko and Sanosuke waited until they were out of earshot, then faced their sons.

"Okay," Sanosuke said, "let's talk about your jobs."

The boys looked at each other, avoiding their parents' gaze.

"No volunteers?" Nuriko said dryly. "Fish Eye, how about you? I saw you at work today, and I know you saw me. Why did you suddenly decide to start working in a fast food restaurant?"

Fish Eye squirmed uncomfortably. "Umm ...." Damn, he thought. Why did they have to ask him first? He didn't want to lie, especially when they already knew the truth. But if he admitted everything, that wouldn't go over well, either.

"I guess Fish Eye doesn't know why he got a job," Sanosuke said. "Tiger Eye?"

The blonde Shifter shrugged. "I didn't have anything better to do."

"Well, that's honest," Nuriko remarked. "But is it the whole truth?" He looked at his third son. "Hawk Eye?"

Hawk Eye became very interested in a speck of dust on his pants. "Lots of reasons," he said vaguely.

"Tell us," Nuriko pressed.

"Well ... the money ... and ... and cars, I like cars ... and, well, Haruka works there ... it's good experience ... and ...."

"And what, Hawk Eye?" Sanosuke asked.

The half-hawk didn't continue. Sano and Nuriko exchanged knowing looks.

"Maybe we can fill in the blank for you," Nuriko suggested. "You got these jobs in order to avoid your cousins, didn't you?"

The Trio couldn't bring themselves to admit it out loud, but they slowly nodded, still avoiding their parents' eyes.

"We could make you quit, you know that, don't you?"

"Yessir," they murmured in unison.

"But we won't," Sanosuke said, which made the boys look up in surprise.

"You ... won't?" Fish Eye said.

"No," Nuriko confirmed. "But neither will things change here. You'll still have to keep up in your chores and make your curfew. So if you have night shifts, you'd better be sure they know that."

"And you're still going to be polite hosts to your cousins," Sanosuke added. "You won't just run home from work and then run back out the door to be with your friends ... jobs or no, you'll be spending time with your family, understand?"

The boys weren't sure they liked the sound of that. It seemed as if the only advantage they gained in taking on jobs would be having extra money. But because their parents were waiting, they nodded their understanding.

"Good," Nuriko said. "Then you're dismissed."

The boys got to their feet and went upstairs.

"Is it just me or did we make a big mistake?" Tiger Eye asked his brothers.

"That's just what they want us to think," Hawk Eye said. "It might still prove beneficial."

"That's easy for you to say," Fish Eye griped. "You're not getting burnt with fryer oil, smelling like grease, and working with Yaten."

"Yaten?" Hawk Eye looked at him. "Isn't that Seiya's brother?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Haruka told me about them. Taiki's okay, but Yaten's obnoxious, and Seiya's a Casanova."

"That's ridiculous," Fish Eye said, trying not to think about Seiya having put an arm around him and the comments he'd made.

"He came on to Michiru, even _knowing_ that she and Haruka were going together," Hawk Eye told him. "He does it all the time. Don't let him fool you, Fishie."

"I'm not!" Fish Eye protested, his face growing hot. "Seiya doesn't mean anything to me except as my supervisor!"

The hall phone rang and Tiger Eye picked it up. "Hello? ... Yes, may I ask who's speaking? ... Okay, sure." He covered the mouthpiece and smirked. "It's for Fish Eye. Someone named Seiya."

Fish Eye's blush deepened and he snatched the receiver, ignoring his brothers. "Hello?"

"Hi there, Fish Eye, it's Seiya! How's it going?"

"Um ... fine. We just saw each other half an hour ago."

"Yeah, I know, but I thought you seemed worried about your folks and you had us drop you down the street and all ... I wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Everything's fine, thanks." Except our parents are on to us, the girls are already being a pain, and my brothers will tease me mercilessly when this call is over, Fish Eye thought.

"That's good," Seiya said. Fish Eye heard voices in the background followed by a snicker, and Seiya quickly said, "Excuse me a minute." Next came what sounded like running feet and a slamming door. Seiya returned to the phone a moment later. "I'm back! Hey, listen, I was wondering ... do you think we could go out sometime?"

"Go out?" Fish Eye repeated without thinking.

"No way, Fishie!" Hawk Eye exclaimed. "Tell him no! Here, give it to me, _I'll_ tell him no!"

Fish Eye gripped the receiver possessively. "Mind your own business, Hawk Eye! If I want to go out with someone, I will!"

"Fine, but not him!" Hawk Eye said firmly.

Tiger Eye looked uneasy. "He sounds like bad news, Fishie."

The half-fish covered the receiver mouthpiece. "How would either of you know?! I spent time with him today, you didn't! You're just going on second-hand information from someone who got mad because her girlfriend was approached!"

"But they were _going_ together, and Seiya ...."

"All's fair in love and war, isn't it?" Fish Eye snapped, then turned away from them and spoke into the receiver, "Seiya? I'd love to go out with you. When?"

There was a momentary silence, then Seiya said, "Okay! How about tomorrow night? We'll be working together again tomorrow, we can decide there what we want to do."

"Fine, see you at work." Fish Eye hung up.

Hawk Eye was glaring at him. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Well, I did it. Deal with it." Fish Eye stalked off toward his room.

"Don't be so sure you're going, Fishie!" Tiger Eye called after him. "You still have to clear it with Mama and Papa!"

Fish Eye went into his room and shut the door firmly, then leaned back against it, trying to gather his wits. What just happened here? It struck him that he'd accepted a date with a boy his parents didn't know ... whom _he_ didn't really know ... and who had a bad reputation. His acceptance had been an act of rebellion against his brothers, but now he was stuck. Did he really want to go out with Seiya? Could he trust him? If nothing else, he supposed it would be another way to avoid being home with the Quartet, but what if his parents saw it that way, too?

Why is my life always so complicated? Fish Eye wondered and set about cleaning up the mess his cousins had made of his clothes.

\--

End of part 4

(1998)

Character copyrights are too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siblings' plans are made to follow Fish Eye and Seiya on their date.

Trio Trials

Part 5

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

Haruka took off her cap and regarded Hawk Eye curiously. "So what's up with you?"

He looked at her. "Nothing's up. What makes you think that?"

"You poured oil into the windshield wiper fluid and even though it's noon, you told the last customer to have a nice night."

Hawk Eye sighed and put his foot up on a toolbox. "Seiya asked Fish Eye out last night and he said yes."

"I don't blame you for being a space case. Seiya's not someone you want your brother dating."

"I didn't think it would be a problem because Mama and Papa wouldn't let him go, but Fishie didn't mention the date at breakfast."

Haruka looked at him. "Maybe he's planning the best way to approach it?"

"Yeah, maybe," Hawk Eye said thoughtfully. "So what if they lose their minds and let him go? Fishie's not safe with that guy."

"You could always do what I do when Yui goes on a date."

"What's that?"

Haruka grinned. "Follow them."

\--

"No mayo on that Munch!"

"Of course," Fish Eye muttered and threw away the kaiser bun with mayo and lettuce on it. He wished the customers would finalize their decisions before the orders were put through instead of constantly making changes afterwards. And people wondered why their service time wasn't faster ....

"Hey, Fish Head, pass me some fries!" Yaten called from over on Tacoz side.

"That's Fish _Eye_!" he snapped and shoved a tray of fries through the space between the counters. His anger gave it momentum and it sailed straight through and over the opposite edge.

"Oh, good one!" Yaten said sarcastically.

"Try catching it this time!" Fish Eye retorted and pushed through another tray without as much force. Yaten picked it up and began making it into mexifries while Fish Eye went back to preparing a new Munch sandwich.

"We need six Chickiebites!" Tamahome called over his shoulder.

"Six?!" Fish Eye abandoned the Munch to drop the smaller sandwich patties into the fryer. While he was there, the timer on some chicken fingers began to beep, so he turned it off and lifted the basket.

"Fish Eye's doing better, isn't he?" Seiya remarked to Taiki with a smile as he watched the pretty blue-haired boy dart around.

"He's doing fine," Taiki agreed. "We'll be able to try him on Tacoz side soon."

"I'm not letting Yaten train him there. The poor kid'll have a nervous breakdown."

"We don't have a choice. Yaten's scheduled on Tacoz all week."

Seiya passed out the Munch sandwich Fish Eye gave him, then took the other boy aside.

"There are no customers left for now so we can talk," Seiya said. "Have you decided what you'd like to do tonight?"

The words ‘cancel' crossed Fish Eye's mind, but when he looked into Seiya's midnight-blue eyes, he somehow couldn't say it.

"Um, I'm not sure," he admitted. "I'm still kind of new here and I don't know all the places to go yet."

"Oh, that's okay." Seiya grinned. "I _do_ know all the fun places to go. You'll have a good time, I promise."

Fish Eye couldn't help but smile. Seiya seemed so sincere, it was hard to believe Hawk Eye could be right about him. Thinking of his brother made him frown, and Seiya looked concerned at his change of expression.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No ... yes." Fish Eye sighed. "My brother Hawk Eye was talking to his friend Haruka and...."

Seiya groaned. "Don't say anything else, I can guess."

"Is it true? Did you ask Michiru out even though she was going with Haruka?"

"Yes," Seiya admitted.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because she was cute and we had a love of music in common," Seiya replied. "It was her choice whether to accept my invitation or not. There was no harm in my asking, especially since she said no."

"I guess some people would say you should leave a happy couple alone."

Seiya raised an eyebrow. "They couldn't be very happy if a little thing like my asking Michiru out could mess them up. Besides, it could even help. It taught Haruka not to take Michiru for granted."

"Was she doing that?"

"No, but now she won't start." Seiya grinned.

Fish Eye giggled. "I don't know about you, Seiya Kou. You may be as incorrigible as they say, but I like the way you look at things."

"Then we're still on?" Seiya asked hopefully.

"Yes," Fish Eye confirmed.

"What about your brother?" Seiya wondered. "He won't give you a hard time?"

"Oh, probably. But he won't stop me."

\--

"So how do we stop Fish Eye?"

"We can't," Hawk Eye replied, leaning down to look at some canaries in a cage. Behind it, he could see Tiger Eye frowning at him.

"You came all the way over here on your lunch break to tell me we can't do anything?" his brother exclaimed.

"I didn't say that," Hawk Eye answered, standing up. "I said we couldn't stop him. But we CAN do something."

Tiger Eye looked curious. "What?"

"Follow him!" Hawk Eye grinned.

The blonde Shifter's eyes widened. "On his date? You serious? He'll know we're there in no time!"

"No, he won't. He's not like us when he's out of water; he can't sense approach like we can."

"Okay." Tiger Eye nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me. I want to make sure that Seiya character doesn't make any moves on him." He shrugged and filled a guinea pigs water dish. "This is assuming he actually gets permission to go, I haven't heard him ask yet. When's he gonna get around to that?"

"Maybe never," Hawk Eye said grimly. "Fishie had that determined look in his eye last night. I don't think he's taking any chances of missing this date."

"He's fish food if he gets caught," Tiger Eye remarked.

"I know," his brother sighed, "and I don't want to snitch on him, because then he'll get in trouble anyway. So I figure we let him go on the date and follow him to keep him safe. A little time with Seiya and he'll realize he's bad news and won't date him again. End of story."

"Sounds simple enough." Tiger Eye nodded.

Hawk Eye jumped off the counter where he'd been sitting. "I have to get back to work. I get off at four, how about you?"

"I'll be home before you. When's Fishie off?"

"Five, I think."

"Oh hooray, so we get to entertain the Quartet alone for a while." Tiger Eye lamented.

"That may be a good thing. If we play with them first, then we won't have any trouble going out later."

"Won't Fishie have trouble getting out, though?"

Hawk Eye snorted. "If he's already planning to date a guy without permission, don't think he won't sneak out to do it."

\--

"Let me guess," Seiya said as he looked down in amusement to where Fish Eye crouched on the floor of the van. "You want us to stop before we reach your house again?"

"Please?" Fish Eye asked, looking up at Seiya from his awkward position. Suddenly he realized he was at eye level with a part of Seiya he wasn't ready to see at close range. He blushed deeply, averting his eyes. Seiya noticed his abrupt embarrassment and grinned.

"Maybe you two shouldn't be going out at all," Yaten drawled from the front seat as the van slowed to a stop. "If Fish Eye is so ashamed to be seen with you, Seiya."

"I'm not ashamed!" Fish Eye said hotly and climbed out of the van. "It's just that my parents can be really overprotective and unreasonable about things like this, especially because of our being in a new place where they don't know people well."

"In other words, they treat you like a baby and you take it."

"Yaten," Seiya said warningly.

The Shifter's eyes flashed. "I guess your parents let you do whatever you want, Yaten. It explains why you're such a spoiled brat!"

Taiki snickered and Yaten shot him a dirty look. "Be quiet and drive us home!"

"YOU be quiet or you can run behind the van," Taiki said calmly and winked at Fish Eye. "See you at work."

"Meet you at the corner at seven!" Seiya called out the window as they drove away. Fish Eye waved and turned toward his house, jumping in fright to find Michiru there.

"You scared me!" Fish Eye cried. "What are you sneaking up on me for?"

"I didn't sneak, I just walked," Michiru said. "Maybe you can tell me why you're being dropped off so far from your house?"

"Isn't it obvious? Papa would have me in a convent in two seconds flat."

Michiru smiled. "So why don't you introduce them to your parents? Then they won't be strangers."

"Would you want to introduce Yaten to your parents?"

"Actually, they already know each other," Michiru said and regarded Fish Eye thoughtfully. "So ... you're going out with Seiya tonight?"

Fish Eye blinked. "How'd you know?"

"Haruka called on her break. She wanted me to talk you out of it."

"Guess I shouldn't be surprised," Fish Eye said dryly. "She's got Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye all riled up about Seiya and they don't even know him."

"Neither do you," Michiru said gently.

"I know," Fish Eye admitted, "but that doesn't mean he's automatically untrustworthy, does it?"

"Seiya's not a bad person," Michiru said. "He's mischievous, though. That's why he asked me out once, just to see what would happen. So he made an enemy of Haruka for nothing, really."

"I still want to go out with him," Fish Eye said. "I think ... well ... we kind of share the same attitude, I guess."

Michiru giggled. "Yes, come to think of it, you're as mischievous as he is. Which is, I guess, why you're not bringing him home to meet your parents before you go out?"

"Not exactly. I just hate to think of him getting the third degree from my father, my brothers, AND the Quartet."

"I see your point!" Michiru laughed. "Well, you can tell them we're going downtown together if you like -- I'll be out with Haruka, anyway. But what if you get caught?"

"I'd rather not think about that."

\--

Yaten pounded on the bathroom door. "Hurry up, Seiya! Some of us would like to get in there in this lifetime, you know!"

"He's been in there for almost an hour," Taiki remarked. "Getting ready for his date, I suppose."

"He hasn't told Mama or Papa where he's going." Yaten folded his arms.

"He will," Taiki replied.

"He shouldn't be going at all! That stuck-up fish-boy isn't good enough for him."

Taiki hid a smile, but not well enough. Yaten glared at him. "What are you grinning at?"

"I'm sorry," his sibling answered. "It was just hearing you call someone else stuck-up."

"Are you suggesting that I'M stuck up?!" Yaten exclaimed.

"No, I'm saying it outright," Taiki replied. "But I love you anyway."

Yaten looked like he wanted to yell again, but wasn't sure what to say. He spun around and resumed pounding on the door instead. "Come on, Seiya!"

The door opened and Seiya came out wearing a towel around his waist. "What's your hurry, Yaten? There's another bathroom downstairs, you know."

"I wanted to shower, too, but you probably used up all the hot water," Yaten complained.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Seiya said cheerfully and went to his room. Yaten abandoned the bathroom and followed him with Taiki trailing curiously.

Yaten entered Seiya's room without knocking and watched him put on new jeans and a sweater. "I can't believe you're serious about this date! That guy is a little airhead!"

"Oh, he is not," Seiya replied easily. "You just don't like him because he's cute."

"That's not true!" Yaten insisted.

"That you don't like him?"

"No, that he's cute!"

Seiya laughed. "Don't be jealous, you're cute, too."

"Don't even think of comparing me to him," Yaten snapped. "Come on, Seiya, he's a fish!"

"Since when are you prejudiced against Shifters? I'm ashamed of you." Seiya carefully tied his ultra-long black hair back in its customary ponytail.

"I've got nothing against them and you know it!" Yaten retorted. "But a _fish_?! There's nothing even remotely attractive or sexy about that!"

"Maybe there is, because I'm definitely attracted to Fish Eye and I think he's very sexy." Seiya turned toward his brothers. "Well? How do I look?"

"Great," Taiki answered.

"Terrible," Yaten said. "I think you're pale. You should stay home."

"I feel fine." Seiya mussed Yaten's hair. "But you look kind of flushed. Maybe you should go to bed early."

"There's nothing wrong with me," Yaten said through gritted teeth.

"That's debatable," Taiki commented.

"Well, I'm off!" Seiya said cheerfully and headed for the door. "See ya!"

"Have fun!" Taiki called.

"Hmmph," added Yaten.

They heard Seiya trot downstairs and say something to their parents. Then the front door opened and shut. Yaten grabbed Taiki's sleeve. "Come on!"

"Come on where?" Taiki cried as he was dragged out of the room.

"We're following him," Yaten said grimly.

"What?! Yaten, you're crazy!"

"He's gonna lie through his teeth later about this date and I want to see what _really_ happens."

The boys' mother, Apricot, appeared just as they reached the foot of the stairs. "Where are you two running off to?"

Yaten snatched car keys off the entryway table without slowing down or releasing Taiki. "We're-going-out-is-it-okay-if-we-borrow-your-car-thanks!" he called over his shoulder and hauled Taiki out the front door.

"We're going to be SO dead when we get back," Taiki groaned as he was pushed into the driver's seat.

"We'll worry about that later." Yaten leapt into the passenger's side. "Let's go!"

Taiki sighed and turned on the engine. "How do I let you and Seiya get me into these things?"

\--

I look great, Fish Eye thought with satisfaction as he modeled in front of his mirror. Casual, but dressy, he decided, eyeing his knee-length black bodysuit and over-sized yellow shirt that slid artfully off one shoulder.

"I guess you're almost ready, huh?"

Fish Eye looked past his own reflection in the mirror to where Hawk Eye stood in his bedroom doorway.

"Why? Are you going to try and stop me again?"

Hawk Eye walked over to him. "No, there'd be no point. You've made it clear that you're going, so that's that."

Fish Eye narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "And you won't turn me in?"

"Of course not!" Hawk Eye exclaimed. "That would leave only Tigger and I for the Quartet to focus on and I'm not up to that."

Fish Eye was still suspicious, but didn't have time to puzzle out his brother's sudden lack of determination. He slung his purse over his shoulder. "See you later then."

Hawk Eye watched his sibling go downstairs and heard him lie to their parents about meeting Michiru downtown before leaving the house.

"Is he gone?" came Tiger Eye's voice from behind Hawk Eye.

"Yep. Let's go."

The two boys dashed down the stairs and ran for the door, nearly bowling Nuriko over.

"Hey, where are you two going in such a rush?!"

"We're-meeting-Haruka-at-the-track-to-watch-her-race-bye!" Hawk Eye said in one breath and slammed the door behind them.

"The race track?" Nuriko questioned. He looked at Sanosuke. "Tiger Eye?"

"I can't picture it, either," his husband said, frowning. "Something's up."

\--

"Yeah, and it's my curiosity," Jun Jun murmured as she and her sisters watched from the kitchen doorway.

"I think Tiger Eye and Hawk Eye are following Fish Eye," Ves Ves said. "Why else would they tear out after him like that?"

"But why would they follow Fish Eye if he's with Michiru?" Palla Palla asked.

"Because Fish Eye isn't going out with Michiru," Cere Cere said logically. "He's doing something else."

"So what are we waiting for?" Ves Ves grinned. "Let's go!"

The four girls ran for the door, managing to knock Nuriko into Sanosuke who landed on his butt.

"Hey!" he protested.

"Sorry-Uncle-Sano-but-we-have-something-very-important-to-do-bye!" Jun Jun called over her shoulder before disappearing out the door with her sisters.

"When did we lose control?" Nuriko wondered out loud.

\--

Fish Eye waved as the van approached. He was going to open the passenger side door, but was surprised when Seiya hopped out and came around to open it for him.

"Hey there," Seiya grinned, looking Fish Eye up and down, "you look great."

"Thanks, so do you." Fish Eye admired Seiya's black jeans and red turtleneck sweater. He decided he really liked red on Seiya. He jumped into the seat and waited for Seiya to come back inside.

"So where are we going?" Fish Eye asked.

"I'm not telling, I want it to be a surprise." Seiya winked. "You'll like it, though, trust me."

Fish Eye raised an eyebrow. "Famous last words?"

"Do me a favour, okay?" Seiya said softly. "Try to judge me for yourself and not from what others have said."

"Okay," Fish Eye answered, feeling a little embarrassed. Here he was, condemning his brothers for their mistrust while he was doing the same thing himself. Well, no more, he resolved. This date would decide how he felt about Seiya and nothing else.

"Now let's go have fun!" Seiya declared and roared the van down the street. A little red sportscar slipped in behind it. A silver convertible followed.

\-- 

End of part 5

(1998)

Character copyrights are too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seiya and Fish Eye go on their date, unaware that they are being followed.

Trio Trials

Part 6

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

"And then they said, ‘I want a dinner for one'."

Fish Eye frowned at Seiya. "But we don't have anything called ‘a dinner for one'."

"No, nothing called that, but lots of meals that could be considered that. Yaten was doing cash that day, and he just looked at the guy and said, "We have eighteen dinners for one, which did you want?"

Fish Eye giggled. "I get the idea Yaten shouldn't be put on cash."

"They don't schedule him there unless they absolutely have to," Seiya agreed. "Yaten shouldn't deal with the public. As you'll find out when you start cash yourself, you need infinite patience, especially on Stupid People Days."

"What's that?"

"A day when you get a lot of people asking questions like ‘are those hotwings hot?'"

Fish Eye laughed. "I hope it wasn't Yaten who had to field that question!"

"No, Tamahome took that, and he was great with the customer, but once they left we all cracked up."

"I don't think I could have kept a straight face."

"It's not easy sometimes." Seiya reached into the glove compartment and began digging through CDs. "Do you mind some music?"

"No, that would be great."

Seiya put in a CD and turned it on. Fish Eye listened to the sweet melody and rich vocals and enjoyed it, but didn't recognize the group. "That's pretty," he said. "Who is it?"

"Me!" Seiya grinned. "Well, me and my brothers. We have a singing group called The Three Lights. No one told you?"

"No," Fish Eye admitted. "Are you famous?"

"Only around here. We've played a few local gigs, parties, school dances and stuff."

"I'm impressed all the same," Fish Eye said. "I'd like to hear you play live sometime."

Seiya grinned at him. "Then I'll make sure you do."

Fish Eye returned the grin and thought Seiya had beautiful dimples.

\--

"Where the heck is he taking him?" Yaten complained. "I don't know anything of interest in this direction!"

"Knowing Seiya, it's something out of the ordinary," Taiki commented, then frowned. "I'm really not that comfortable staying right behind them like this ... Seiya's likely to recognize the car."

"So slow down!"

"I can't," he replied, glancing into the rear-view mirror. "There's a car behind us. It's been following us for a while."

"Slow down anyway," Yaten advised. "Make him pass us."

Taiki slowed the car while Yaten twisted in his seat to look behind them.

\--

"Uh oh," Hawk Eye said. "That car up ahead is slowing down. I think they want us to pass."

His brother's eyes widened. "But we can't pass! If we get too close, Fishie will see us!"

"Don't worry, I'm staying right behind this car. They'll get the idea and speed up sooner or later."

\--

"What is WRONG with those people, they're not passing us!" Yaten exploded. "If we go any slower, we'll lose the van!"

"I don't understand it. Maybe it's a very nervous driver." Taiki turned the wheel. "I'll just pull over. They'll have to pass then."

\--

"Hey, they're pulling over!" Tiger Eye cried.

"I guess I'll just keep going, but stay far enough behind the van so they won't see us." Hawk Eye passed by the red car on the side of the road.

\--

"Okay!" Taiki said. "Now we can get back on the road before we lose the van!" He pulled back out onto the street.

"Some people shouldn't be driving," Yaten grumbled, glaring at the silver car up ahead.

Taiki glanced down at the speedometer. "Uh ... Yaten? Don't get upset, but they're slowing down."

"WHAT?!" Yaten sat up straight. "They can't slow down, we'll lose the van!"

"Well, what do you want me to do? We can't pass them, or we'll be in Seiya's line of sight, and we can't stay here if they slow down much more."

Yaten watched their speed go down another notch. "Damn it, they're trying to force us to pass _them_!"

"This is ridiculous," Taiki muttered and pulled around the silver car to move over in front of it. He then slowed down so as not to be too close to the van up ahead.

\--

"Is there some REASON why those people are playing Musical Cars with us?!" Tiger Eye screeched.

"None that I can think of and don't yell in my ear!" Hawk Eye snapped.

"Well, I'm not just going to sit here!" Tiger Eye leaned over to honk the horn, but Hawk Eye grabbed his wrist.

"Are you out of your mind?!" He cried. "Fish Eye will definitely notice us if you hit the horn!"

Tiger Eye exhaled in frustration, then cranked down the window. He leaned half out of it and waved his arm wildly. "Hey, you! You're going slow enough to get a parking ticket! Move it!"

\--

Taiki glanced into the rear-view mirror and blinked. "Someone in the car behind us is about to fall out their window."

Yaten opened his own window and stuck his head out. "What's your problem?!" he shouted.

"Yaten, don't get into a shouting match with the guy in the other car please," Taiki sighed, reaching over to yank his brother back inside.

"HEY!" Yaten protested, glaring at Taiki. "What's the big idea?!"

"You were about to start crawling out the window and I don't want you splattered all over the street," Taiki said reasonably. "How would I explain having blood on the car to Mama?"

"Oh, thanks!" Yaten snorted and twisted around to glare at the car behind them. His green eyes widened suddenly. "Taiki, I think I know that guy!"

"Which guy?"

"The driver ... the one who just pulled the blonde big mouth back into the car. I saw him at the restaurant, he's Fish Eye's brother!"

"What?!" Taiki's brakes squealed as he pulled off the road and he and Yaten jumped out of the car, waving to the silver vehicle.

\--

"Those guys are flagging us down!" Tiger Eye said, bouncing in his seat. "Stop! Stop! I wanna kick their butts!"

Hawk Eye's jaw dropped. "Tiger Eye, those are Seiya's brothers!" He pulled over and got out with Tiger Eye following. The two of them and Taiki and Yaten all started talking at once.

"What are you guys doing, driving like that?!"

"Us?! We were doing perfectly fine until you started slowing us down!"

"We didn't slow you down, you slowed US down!"

"What are you talking about?!"

A throat cleared in the silver car and the four boys turned to see four girls peering out the back seat windows.

"The Quartet!" Tiger Eye gasped. "How long have YOU been there!"

"Since you left the driveway, stupid," Jun Jun replied.

"Just thought we'd let you geniuses know that you're losing the van," Ves Ves said.

"Auugh, she's right!" Hawk Eye cried and darted back to their car with Tiger Eye behind him.

"It looks like we're all following Seiya and Fish Eye," Taiki called over his shoulder as he and Yaten ran for the red car. "So let's not mess each other up anymore and try to work together!"

"Yeah, yeah, get in the car, Taiki!" Yaten cried, diving into the passenger side.

Car doors slammed on all sides and the two vehicles renewed their pursuit.

\--

"Okay, you can open your eyes now!" Seiya said.

Fish Eye opened his tightly-shut blue eyes and gasped in amazement at what loomed before him. "An aquarium! Oh Seiya, how did you know I'd love something like this?"

"Just call it a hunch," he said and jumped out of the van. He went around to open Fish Eye's door for him, then the two of them headed for the ticket counter. "I haven't been here myself since I was a little kid and I've heard they've really expanded and added a bunch of new exhibits since then."

"I can't wait!" Fish Eye grinned excitedly. "I used to practically live at the aquarium in our old city!" A momentary frown passed over his face. "Until ...."

Seiya glanced at him, noticing his change in tone. "Until what?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." Fish Eye smiled brightly. "This was so thoughtful of you."

Seiya smiled back, enjoying Fish Eye's obvious pleasure.

\--

The red car pulled into the parking lot first, and the silver one followed. The van was parked a couple of rows away.

Everyone got out and joined up by the red car. "What is this place?" Hawk Eye frowned.

"Seiya's idea of a joke maybe," Yaten said. "Taking a fish to an aquarium. Hey, Taiki, maybe he really doesn't like Fish Eye and just wanted to insult him."

"An aquarium?!" Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye exclaimed together.

"Yes, they have some beautiful samples of marine life from all over the world here," Taiki said. "I did a research project on exotic sea mammals once and what I picked up here was very informative." He looked at Yaten. "And I don't think Seiya would go to all the trouble of setting up a date with Fish Eye just to insult him. He must genuinely think he would enjoy a place like this and why wouldn't he? _I_ like it."

"Oh, don't worry," Tiger Eye sighed. "Fishie'll love it."

"In more ways than one," Hawk Eye agreed.

"What are you babbling about?" Yaten frowned.

"Palla Palla wants to go inside and see the pretty fish!" piped up the small blue-haired girl.

"We have to be careful, remember?" Cere Cere told her. "We don't want Fish Eye to catch us."

"I don't care if he catches us." Jun Jun shrugged. "He expects stuff like this from us!"

"Yeah, but not from us!" Hawk Eye retorted. "And if he finds out we've followed him, he'll pluck me!"

"I don't even want to imagine what he'd do to me," Tiger Eye remarked.

"Seiya wouldn't be thrilled with the two of us, either," Taiki said. "So it behooves us all to work together and stay as inconspicuous as possible."

"Eight people following them?" Ves Ves chuckled. "Nothing conspicuous about that."

"Then why don't you four go home?!" Tiger Eye told them. "You've got no business being here anyway!"

"And you do?" Jun Jun said.

"We're here to protect Fish Eye's honour, of course."

"Hey!" Yaten snapped. "Are you suggesting Seiya would do something to Fish Eye against his will?!"

"We've heard your brother's reputation," Hawk Eye said. "He might not force Fishie into anything, but we know he can charm people into almost anything."

"Why he'd want to waste time charming that fish is beyond me, and he's sure to come to his senses before the evening's over!" Yaten retorted.

"Personally, I'd like to just go home." Taiki sighed.

"Sure," Yaten looked at him. "You go ahead and face Mama alone. I'll join you later, after she's tired herself out on you."

"Touché," Taiki said quietly.

"We're staying, too, boys, so get used to it." Ves Ves folded her arms. "So do we go in, or what?"

Hawk Eye ran a hand through his pink hair. "Yeah, we go in. But everyone be quiet and don't get too close to them."

"Be quiet, right." Yaten looked dubiously at the four girls. "We'll be about as quiet as a brass band with all those little girls along."

Jun Jun glared at him. "Hey, ever hear about the blonde who got fired from the M & M factory for throwing away the W's?"

Taiki grabbed Yaten to keep him from launching himself at the green-haired girl. "Let's just go inside. We can make introductions on the way." He steered Yaten toward the entrance and glanced at Hawk Eye. "By the way, what did you mean before about Fish Eye and the aquarium? You seemed concerned for some reason."

"Well," Hawk Eye sighed, "Fish Eye has a little ... problem ... whenever he's around fish. We're as much our animal selves as we are human, and some basic instincts can be hard to suppress ...."

\--

Fish Eye was having a great time and was glad that Seiya seemed to be enjoying himself, too. They stopped to examine every display, laughing over the antics of the penguins behind one glass and stepping back automatically when a shark neared them from another. They had been there for almost an hour when they came to the Amazon exhibit.

"Oh!" Fish Eye cried in delight as he ran into the room. "This is my native habitat!"

Seiya looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Fish Eye laughed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound strange. The kind of fish I change into is from the Amazon." He ran to the glass of the tank and began searching the various species drifting through the water. "That one!" he pointed.

Seiya stepped up to join him and studied the beautiful streaked fish with its unusual spiked fins and tail. "It's stunning," he admitted. "And you can turn into one of those?"

Fish Eye giggled. "Yes, but I'm just a little different. Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye tell me that my fish self has blue eyes." He nodded toward the fish. "See the tips of the tail and fins? Those are poisonous."

Seiya grinned rakishly at him. "And I thought a cute little fish like yourself wouldn't have any defenses."

Fish Eye tossed his hair and winked. "You'd be surprised."

\--

"They're flirting," Yaten said flatly as the group of spies peeked around the corner. "I may barf."

"Ew, not here, you don't!" Cere Cere protested.

"Ssh, do you want them to hear you?" Taiki cautioned for the eighty-third time.

"Come on, Fishie, get out of there," Hawk Eye murmured.

"Now, before it's too late," Tiger Eye added.

"You guys aren't still worried about what you were talking about before, are you?" Jun Jun looked over at them.

"Fish Eye hasn't done anything," Palla Palla remarked.

"Not yet, but ...." Hawk Eye began.

Seiya's voice carried over to them, "Hey, look, it must be feeding time!"

Tiger Eye sighed. "NOW it's too late."

\--

Fish Eye stared at the fish in the tank as new expendable victims were tossed in as food for those bigger species on display. He watched one fish focus on a wiggling minnow and swallow it whole.

"Did you see that?" Seiya said excitedly. "One blink and it's gone! That's amazing!"

Fish Eye watched as the other fish took advantage of the weaker newcomers. He felt something familiar stirring inside him and fought to control it.

"Whoa, that big fish just bit that other one's head off!" Seiya exclaimed, then looked at Fish Eye in concern. "This isn't grossing you out or anything is it? We don't have to watch."

"No, I'm fine," Fish Eye replied, keeping his voice and expression carefully schooled. In the dim lighting, Seiya didn't notice that his date was paling. "Um ... where can I find the ... uh ... facilities?"

"Oh!" Seiya said. "Back in that hallway, just around the corner." He pointed.

"Thanks. I'll be right back."

\--

"He's coming!" Hawk Eye hissed. "Run for it!"

The group of them scrambled down the hallway into the next room and peered around the doorway to watch Fish Eye leave the Amazon display. He paused in the hallway to catch his breath, then looked up as one of the aquarium caretakers emerged from behind a nearby closed door. He shut it and nodded to Fish Eye, then left. Fish Eye examined the door, clearly marked, ‘No Admittance.'

"What's he doing?" Yaten muttered.

"Arguing with himself," Tiger Eye replied in a whisper.

Fish Eye put his hand on the doorknob.

"And losing," Hawk Eye added with a sigh.

They watched Fish Eye slip inside the restricted door and close it behind him.

"What's in there, anyway?" Ves Ves asked.

"That's the stairway that leads to the top level of the tanks ... it's where the staff go to feed the fish," Taiki explained.

Palla Palla frowned. "Fish Eye is not allowed to go up there. He'll get into trouble."

"Only if he gets caught," Hawk Eye said.

"And it wouldn't be the first time," Tiger Eye put in.

"Come on!" Jun Jun ran out into the hall. "Let's go see what happens!"

\--

Seiya sat down on one of the cushioned benches in front of the tank and surveyed all the various species as they quickly and neatly finished off the smaller fish they'd been given to feed upon. It was an amazing thing to watch, nature in action ... or at least simulated nature in a controlled environment. The fish didn't know the difference probably, all they knew was instinct. Food was presented and they went for it. He noticed a red, round-finned, particularly plump fish that seemed very slow and languid drifting toward one of the smaller ones. At the last moment when it seemed about to pass it by, its head turned in a lightning-quick move and the little fish was gone. Seiya was still marveling at that when the plump fish itself disappeared.

He blinked, not sure of what he'd seen. Where did it go? There were no other bigger fish in the vicinity that could have eaten it, and he was sure it didn't swim away that quickly without his seeing it. An after-image of a green-scaled hand flashing toward the fish flickered at the back of his mind, but he dismissed it as imagination.

"I don't get it," he murmured, scratching his head.

\--

"Did you guys see that?!" Jun Jun whispered excitedly. "Fish Eye grabbed it!"

"He really did it," Yaten said in disbelief. "He took that fish and is probably eating it right now!"

Taiki covered his brother's mouth. "Seiya will hear you!"

Yaten struggled away and glared at him. "I don't care, he SHOULD hear me! He's dating a cannibal!"

"Fish Eye isn't a cannibal!" Hawk Eye snapped. "He can't help himself sometimes, it's fish instinct!"

"He's always had this problem," Tiger Eye said. "We can't take him into pet stores in case he tries to sneak a snack."

"Well," Taiki said slowly, "personally, I understand the instinctual drive, but for practicality, he's stealing. That was probably a very expensive, rare specimen."

"That's the real problem," Hawk Eye admitted. "We're afraid he's going to get himself arrested sometime."

"He's been caught before," Tiger Eye said. "But that was when he was younger, back home."

"There was this fresh fish store near our house," Hawk Eye continued, "and because Fish Eye loved fish so much, and we liked it, too, Mama used to take us there to select some for dinner at least once a week ...."

~~

The little bell rang over the fish store entry door as Sagara Nuriko held it open for his three six-year-old children. They tumbled into the store excitedly and began darting around to look in the display cases.

"Hello, Astor." Nuriko smiled at the big shop keeper.

"Good to see you, Nuriko, and how is your husband?"

"Oh, he's fine."

"Look, Mama!" Tiger Eye pointed. "They have big shrimp!"

"Big shrimp!" Hawk Eye laughed. "That sounds funny!"

"Those just came in," Astor remarked. He reached down to scoop up Fish Eye before he could disappear behind the counter. "Got you, little one!" He chuckled warmly and tickled him.

Fish Eye giggled. "Don't! Put me down, please."

"I will," Astor said. "Right here." He placed Fish Eye in his big hanging scale and took note of his weight.

Nuriko and his other two sons watched in confusion. "Astor? What are you doing?"

The big store owner lifted Fish Eye out of the scale and placed him on his feet, watching him scoot off with his brothers to the other end of the shop. "Well, I'll tell you, Nuriko," Astor grinned sheepishly. "I didn't want to say anything, but last time you and your young ones came in, a little chunk of my cod stock was missing from behind the counter. Time before that I was short some haddock. Before that it was mussels. I'm used to letting neighbourhood kids go all over the place on their own, but Fish Eye's the only one who ever ventures behind the counter."

Nuriko looked horrified. "You mean he's been taking fish from you? But I've never seen him leave with anything or I'd have stopped him."

"Of course you would have, that's why he eats it on the spot." Astor grinned. "I could be wrong, that's why I weighed him just now. When you're ready to leave, we'll know for sure."

Nuriko spent another fifteen minutes in the fish shop choosing what he wanted and chatting with Astor. Finally, he called the children over. "We're leaving now, boys!"

The three of them scampered to his side, but Astor scooped Fish Eye up again. "Whee!" Fish Eye giggled.

"Back in you go, little one," Astor said and plopped him down onto the scale once more.

"What's he doing with Fishie, Mama?" Hawk Eye asked.

"Is he gonna put him in the counter like the other fish?" Tiger Eye asked worriedly.

"No, sweetheart, don't worry," Nuriko said, although he looked rather concerned himself.

"Ah ha!" Astor declared as he checked Fish Eye's weight. "Our little one's not so little anymore; he's gained a couple of pounds!"

"Fish Eye," Nuriko said sternly. "Did you eat anything here?"

Fish Eye gripped the chains of the scale, his lower lip trembling. He glanced at Astor, who smiled reassuringly.

"I'm not mad at you, child, but I think you'd better answer your mama."

The six-year-old's blue eyes cast downward. "Yes," he whispered.

Nuriko sighed. "I'm sorry, Astor. When you figure out what I owe you, please let me know."

"Don't think anything of it." Astor chuckled, lifting Fish Eye off the scale. "We'll just keep an eye on him in here from now on."

Nuriko took a firm hold of Fish Eye's hand and looked down at him. "I don't know if I'll ever bring him in here again," he admitted.

Hawk Eye leaned close to Fish Eye. "Yeah, but if we do, we WILL put you in the case with the other fish!"

His brother's eyes widened and he promptly burst into tears.

~~

"You were a rotten kid, weren't you?" Jun Jun asked Hawk Eye in admiration.

"Nah, but I felt sort of responsible for Fishie, even then," Hawk Eye admitted.

"Did Fish Eye ever get to go back to the store?" Cere Cere asked.

"Yes, but anytime he did Astor weighed him coming in and going out." Tiger Eye grinned.

"Speaking of coming in," Taiki interrupted, "I think he's returning."

They all rushed back to the other room and watched Fish Eye come out through the restricted doorway. He glanced around carefully, then closed it and went to rejoin Seiya.

"I thought you got lost for a while there!" they heard Seiya joke.

"Don't worry," came Fish Eye's airy reply, "I can always find my way around a place like this!"

"Can this date get any weirder?" Yaten muttered.

\--

End of part 6

(1998)

Character copyrights are too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seiya and Fish Eye's date continues, while those following them team up.

Trio Trials

Part 7

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

Fish Eye smiled politely at Seiya as he held out his chair for him but inside he was panicking. This was a nice restaurant. Really nice. Seiya looked so pleased to be taking him there. And he wasn't hungry at all.

Why did he have to eat that stupid fat fish? He was in the middle of a first date with a gorgeous, sexy, attentive guy, and he'd risked it all to give in to instinct. Now he'd have to force down an expensive meal he didn't need. Fish Eye no baka ....

\--

"There they are!" Taiki said and was promptly crushed against the restaurant window by the crowding group behind him. "Hey!"

"Fish Eye looks nervous," Jun Jun remarked.

Yaten sniffed. "So would I if I'd just pigged out on fish and then had to have dinner."

"I'm sure he's regretting it now," Cere Cere commented. "This place looks like it probably has a good menu."

"Hey, look at that Boston cream pie!"

"Tigger!"

"Well, Fishie got to eat, but we didn't, and it looks good ...."

"I wish we could hear what they're saying," Yaten grumbled.

"They're probably talking about the menu, since the waiter just gave them to them," Ves Ves reasoned.

"May I help you?"

The group turned to see a man in a suit standing in the doorway of the restaurant with his arms folded, watching them suspiciously.

"Yeah!" Yaten said. "Would you mind if we went in and took a booth not-too-far away from that couple that just sat down? We won't need menus or any ...."

Taiki clamped his hand over his brother's mouth. "Sorry, sir, he's late for his medication. We'll be on our way now."

The man kept a close eye on them until they were well down the street.

Yaten whirled on Taiki. "My _medication_?!"

"That explains a lot," Tiger Eye remarked. Yaten's furious green-eyed glare turned on him, but he grinned. "You're kinda cute when you're mad."

Yaten's eyes widened and he turned red, clamping his lips shut.

Taiki winked at Hawk Eye. "Your brother accomplished something we've been trying to do for years ... Yaten's speechless!"

Hawk Eye almost didn't hear what Taiki had said. When the long-haired boy winked at him, he couldn't help noticing what sexy lavender eyes he had. Standing next to him, in fact, he realized with a start that Taiki was downright beautiful. His hair was full of rich red highlights and he had skin that a model would envy ....

"Hawk Eye? Hey, Hawk Eye, wake up!"

"Huh? What?" Hawk Eye snapped out of his dream world as Jun Jun poked him in the side.

"We were just saying that Fish Eye and Seiya will be in there for a while, so we're going to that ice cream place over there where we can see the front of the restaurant through the window." She pointed.

"Oh." They'd said all that and he'd missed it? Where had his brain been? He glanced over to where Taiki playfully mussed Yaten's hair and remembered.

\--

"Are you sure you have enough to eat?" Seiya asked in concern, eyeing Fish Eye's bowl of soup.

"Oh, yes, plenty. And it's delicious." Fish Eye smiled, and it was the truth. In fact, the soup was too much by itself ... the lobster chowder was rich and thick, but too good to pass up. I'll be sick all night from overeating, but it'll be worth it, Fish Eye thought.

He decided to change the subject. "Tell me about your family ... we haven't met your parents in the neighborhood yet."

"You probably will ... Michiru's mom and mine are friends, so we usually come to the neighborhood barbecues and stuff."

"You weren't at the one that welcomed us," Fish Eye pointed out.

"No, sorry. My parents had tickets for all of us to go to a rock concert."

"Really?" Fish Eye was surprised. "Your parents do cool stuff like that with you?"

"Well, they met at a concert, and Dad says we were conceived after one, too." Seiya grinned. "Our dad has always been involved in music, so we probably got our interest in it from him."

"Have you always wanted to be a performer?"

"Oh sure!" Seiya said. "I can even remember our first performance in front of a microphone ...."

~~

"Okay, kids," Kou Apricot said to her six-year-old triplets as they bounced around her excitedly, "your dad will be in the music store for a while, and I need to get a few things here in the department store, but after that we can look at the toys."

"Okay!" little Seiya said cheerfully.

"May I get a new storybook, Mommy?" Taiki asked hopefully.

"I think we can arrange that." Apricot smiled, then looked around. "Yaten? Yaten?!"

"There he is!" Seiya pointed.

Apricot looked over to where Yaten had left the department store entirely and was back out in the mall looking in the pet store window.

"Yaten!" she called. "Get back here now!"

The little blonde boy reluctantly headed back to his mother, who leaned down to look directly into his big green eyes. "Yaten, how many times have I told you not to go off by yourself?"

Yaten shrugged. "I dunno."

"Yes, you do, and it was many times. You are not to wander away by yourself, do you understand?"

"Can I go see the pets?" Yaten asked.

"It's ‘may I', and no, you may not," Apricot told him. "After we're finished here, we'll go to the pet store."

An intercom clicked on overhead and a voice resonated throughout the store. "Attention, SaveMart shoppers! For the next fifteen minutes, all merchandise marked twenty percent off will be rung in as fifty percent off at the nearest available checkout counter ...."

"That person must be REALLY big!" Seiya said, searching wide-eyed for the gigantic owner of the voice.

Apricot smiled. "No, sweetie, it's just a normal person speaking into a microphone. See that little window up there?" She pointed to a window near the top of one store wall. "That's the office, and they make announcements to the whole store from there."

"Into a microphone?" Seiya asked. "Like the one Daddy lets us use in his music room?"

"That's right." Apricot nodded. "Now let's start our shopping."

For twenty minutes, Apricot stocked up on clothing necessities for her children and husband, then chose some toiletries from the pharmacy department.

"Okay, boys," she announced, "we can go look at the toys now."

The lack of immediate enthusiasm made her heart skip a beat. She looked left and right and realized her fears were all too justified. The boys had disappeared.

"Don't panic," she told herself in a trembling voice. "They're nearby." She abandoned her cart and began searching all the closest aisles but found no trace of her children.

"Seiya!" she called. "Taiki! Yaten!"

Several people looked her way, but no answering small voices came. Dear God, I've lost them, she thought, tears stinging her eyes. What am I going to do?! What will I tell their father?! What if they've been kidnapped?!

"May I help you, Ma'am?"

Apricot hadn't realized that she'd started crying openly until she saw the security guard watching her with concern. "My children ... my three little boys ... they're missing! I don't know where ...."

The intercom clicked overhead and a very young voice filled the store. "Hi! My brothers and me are gonna sing now." There was a moment's pause and then a trio of youthful singers began a chorus of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.

The security guard looked amused. "Yours?" he asked Apricot.

"Yes," she answered, wondering if her first reaction upon reaching her little singing group would be to hug them or spank them.

~~

Fish Eye laughed. "So which did she do?"

"Both," Seiya said ruefully. "Yaten tried to reason that he hadn't wandered off alone that time ... he was with _us_ ... but Mom wasn't in the mood to be reasonable. When Dad found out, he laughed."

"Your father sounds really easy-going," Fish Eye said in admiration. "I wish mine was like that. I love him like crazy, but he's too strict sometimes."

"Oh, don't worry, I've got my mom for that. They're always having arguments that go, ‘You're far too lenient with them' ‘Oh, lighten up, boys will be boys ....'"

"My parents never have disagreements like that ... they're always in full agreement over how bad we are." Fish Eye grinned.

"Oh?" Seiya raised a mischievous eyebrow. "And how bad are you?"

Fish Eye blushed at the way Seiya was looking at him. "Not _that_ bad ...."

"You didn't tell them you were coming out with me tonight, did you?"

"Um ... no," Fish Eye admitted. "But it's to protect you, too. You don't want to go through the third degree with my father."

"You shouldn't worry so much," Seiya told him. "I can make a very good impression on parents."

Fish Eye felt uncomfortable. "It's not you, Seiya. It's just that my brothers and cousins will get into the act, and ...."

"Hey, you don't have to tell me about nosy brothers, I've got two of my own." Seiya grinned. "And if we decide to see each other again, we won't be able to keep it a secret for long."

"I know." Fish Eye nodded and looked at him. "If we do decide to date again, I promise to tell them."

"Good." Seiya nodded back and winked. "Because if you do me honour of a second date, I want everything out in the open. I want to show you off."

Fish Eye smiled. He could think of worse things than showing Seiya off as his date, too.

\--

"Palla Palla likes ice cream!"

"Too bad Palla Palla doesn't like paying for it," Tiger Eye muttered, looking at the bill sourly.

"Hey, we have money, we just didn't bring it out the door with us," Ves Ves said, licking her spoon.

"Don't worry, Tiger Eye, we'll have plenty of money soon from our jobs," Hawk Eye assured him.

"That's about all our job is good for," Yaten commented and spooned up some more of his sundae.

"Well, theoretically, it's supposed to build character and a sense of responsibility," Taiki said.

"Dad already says I'm a character," Yaten retorted. "And be honest, Taiki, what has it done for you besides the money?"

"I've learned new and exciting ways to burn myself," Taiki began listing seriously, "and that the general public not only consumes too much grease, but they're basically dumber than rocks."

"I knew you could sum it up effectively." Yaten nodded.

"Fish Eye is going to hate it there," Tiger Eye said.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Jun Jun remarked, looking over into the restaurant window across the street. Fish Eye and Seiya could be seen laughing and chatting amiably. "I think he'll find something to make it worth his while."

"You mean Seiya's charming company?" Hawk Eye snorted.

Yaten whirled on him. "What's wrong with Seiya?!"

Hawk Eye looked at him, then glanced toward Taiki, who seemed preoccupied with swirling his ice cream around in his dish.

"Uh ... I just meant that I don't think that Seiya is enough to keep Fish Eye happy with a job that he would normally run away from."

"Maybe not," Taiki said quietly, "but then maybe Seiya can make his free time more interesting."

"Yeah, well, maybe," Hawk Eye replied uneasily.

Tiger Eye stared at him. "What are you saying, Hawk Eye? Did you forget why we're here?"

"To eat ice cream?" Palla Palla suggested, slurping down a mouthful.

"No!" Tiger Eye stated. "To protect Fish Eye from that philanderer!"

"Watch it, Tiger Boy," Yaten warned. "You haven't seen Seiya do anything to Fish Eye yet, and you won't. He's a gentleman."

"He's a Casanova!"

"Well, you're an idiot!"

"And you're naive!"

"You're BOTH getting too loud," Ves Ves pointed out. "The manager is glaring at you and I don't want to get kicked out before I finish my ice cream."

"HEY!" Jun Jun jumped up suddenly, staring out the window. "They're gone!"

\--

"Uh, Fish Eye?" Seiya said as he bent over awkwardly in his chair to look under the table. "What's going on?"

"Don't lean down like that! You'll draw attention to me!"

"I think the way you dove under there might do that, anyway," Seiya remarked. "What's the problem?"

"Haruka and her parents just sat down at that corner table!" Fish Eye hissed.

Seiya looked in that direction and sure enough, Zoisite, Kunzite, Haruka, and Yui were looking through their menus. "So what?"

"Her parents know my parents! If they say something to them about my being here with you, they'll know I lied about going out with Michiru!"

"Oh, okay," Seiya said, finally understanding, then yelped out, "Whoa!" as he was hauled under the table. "Well, this is cozy." He smiled at Fish Eye.

"Her parents know you, too, right?! They may come over here if they see you!"

"Well, what do you want to do? We can't stay here all evening."

Fish Eye was beside himself with panic and despair. This was not how he envisioned his date! If Haruka's parents did see him with Seiya, it would be all over for him at home, but Seiya was right. They were trapped.

An approaching rattle drew Fish Eye's attention to a waiter pushing a dessert cart toward them. He was going to pass right by their table with it. "Follow me!" Fish Eye said.

Seiya glanced toward the cart and knew what Fish Eye was thinking. He quickly pulled out some money and slipped it up onto the table to pay for their dinner, then followed his date in crawling alongside the passing cart right past Haruka's table, hidden from view.

"We did it!" Fish Eye said in relief as he stood up, glancing back across the restaurant.

"I feel like a spy." Seiya grinned. "I knew dating you wouldn't be boring."

"I'm sorry," Fish Eye told him sheepishly. "I didn't mean to cut our dinner short."

"Better than having your _life_ cut short," Seiya laughed. "Don't worry, I understand about strict parents, remember? And nosy neighbours, too. It seems like whenever something happens, everyone in the neighborhood knows about it five minutes later."

"Let's hope they never find out about this then," Fish Eye said. "Come on, let's go."

\--

"Where could they have gone?!"

"How could they just slip by us?!"

"It was all your fault! You were supposed to be watching!"

"Me?! We ALL were supposed to be watching!"

Taiki shook his head and looked up and down the street. The group had run out onto the sidewalk when Jun Jun noticed Fish Eye and Seiya's disappearance, but now they seemed to have lost them completely.

"Maybe we should split up," he said. "They can't have gone far."

"You're not kidding!" Tiger Eye cried. "They're coming out the front door of the restaurant right now!"

The eight of them tried to rush back inside the ice cream parlour and managed only to jam in the doorway, tripping over each other until they lay in a collective heap. From his prone position, Taiki glanced fearfully toward Seiya and Fish Eye, only to see them disappearing into the van.

"They're about to leave!" he exclaimed, and jumped to his feet. With his long legs, he covered the ground to the red car in no time and leaped into the driver's seat. "Everybody come in here!" he yelled out the window. "We'll come back for the other car later!"

With no time to debate the issue, everyone followed his instructions and squished into the car. As soon as the last door shut, Taiki gunned the engine and tore off down the street.

"Yipes!" Cere Cere cried as she fell into the seat. "Be careful up there!"

"We'll lose them if I don't catch up!" Taiki called over his shoulder.

"I think we should have waited a couple more minutes before leaving," Ves Ves said.

"Why?!" Hawk Eye demanded. "Do you want them to get away?"

"No," she said patiently, "but I think the ice cream people would have liked to be paid."

Everyone looked each other with wide eyes.

Taiki groaned. "Great, now we're criminals on top of being spies."

"Yeah!" Jun Jun crowed. "Isn't it cool?"

\--

"Are you okay?" Seiya asked Fish Eye. He was a little concerned, as the half-fish had his forehead resting on the car's dashboard.

"Not really," Fish Eye replied. "I just realized that Haruka was supposed to be out with Michiru tonight. Michiru was my alibi. If Haruka had to go out with her parents instead, that may mean Michi is at home and if THAT'S the case, my story could fall apart if our parents talk and ...."

"That's the problem with lying," Seiya said gently. "It comes back to you eventually."

"Do you ever lie?" Fish Eye looked at him.

"Everybody does, especially where parents are concerned," Seiya replied. "I'd spend half my life grounded if I told my mom the truth about everything. I'm not condemning you for lying to your parents, Fish Eye, really. I'm just sorry you're going through this torment when you didn't have to."

"Yeah, I brought it on myself, I know." Fish Eye sighed and sat back. He shrugged and tried to look cheerful. "Hey, nothing may come up, after all, and I won't end up in a convent, right?"

"Right!" Seiya grinned. "And if you do, I'll come see you on visiting day."

"Do convents have visiting days?"

Seiya laughed. "Let's hope so!"

"Where are we going now?" Fish Eye looked out the window.

"It's a surprise," Seiya said.

Fish Eye giggled. "I shouldn't even have asked. You like surprises, don't you?"

"Sometimes, when appropriate," Seiya agreed. "Some things shouldn't be surprises because if they are, they can turn into nasty shocks instead."

"You speak from experience?"

Seiya paused. He glanced at Fish Eye, then faced the road again. "Yeah, I do."

"I guess I understand," Fish Eye said quietly. "For instance, there are people around who aren't very tolerant of Shifters. The idea of a half-human, half-fish is a turn-off for them. Strangely enough, those same people don't seem to mind Tiger Eye's animal form. I guess tigers are romantic and fish aren't."

Seiya smiled at him warmly. "I wouldn't say that."

Fish Eye blushed, but smiled back.

\--

"Where are we going?!" Hawk Eye demanded. "Where's he taking him now?"

"I think we're heading for the lake," Taiki said slowly. Yaten sat bolt upright and stared at him.

"The lake?!" He looked out the window. "Hey, you're right!"

"What's the big deal about the lake?" Jun Jun asked.

Taiki hesitated. "It's ... um ...."

"It's what?" Hawk Eye asked, looking at the redhead closely.

"It has a reputation as a make-out place," Yaten blurted out, then added defensively, "But that doesn't mean anything! Seiya may just be showing it to him!"

"AUUUUGH!" Hawk Eye cried, covering his face with his hands. "I knew it!"

"You don't know anything, so shut up!" Yaten snapped. "People come to the lake for other reasons, too!"

"In the daytime, anyway," Taiki murmured.

"Palla Palla wants to watch them make out," said the blue-haired girl.

"Ew, I don't," Cere Cere remarked.

"Why would anyone want to make out with Fish Eye?" Jun Jun remarked. "I don't see the appeal."

"He's our cousin, we're not supposed to," Ves Ves said.

"Will you all just shut up?!" Hawk Eye yelled. "No one is going to be making out because I'll rip Seiya's lips off if he even thinks about it!"

"What makes you think Fish Eye wouldn't think about it himself?" Taiki said coolly.

"Maybe he's a cold fish," Yaten quipped mischievously.

Tiger Eye flipped his hair back. "Fish Eye was raised to be a good boy, that's what."

"Oh, that explains why he hides on the floor of our van when we give him rides home and why he didn't introduce Seiya to your parents or even tell them about this date, right?" Taiki said in amusement. "Come on, you guys. Seiya isn't a saint, but I'd bet a year's salary that Fish Eye isn't, either. Can anyone here honestly make that claim?"

"I kind of thought _you_ could, Mr. I-Don't-Get-Into-Trouble-Unless-One-Of-My-Rotten-Siblings-Drags-Me-Into-It," Yaten remarked frankly.

"Maybe it's just that you and Seiya are so bad that you make me look good by comparison."

Yaten stuck his tongue out at his brother and resumed looking out the window. Hawk Eye glanced toward Taiki and couldn't help but notice the faint blush to his cheeks. Had Yaten embarrassed him somehow? In any case, he looked really sexy with that tell-tale redness in his face.

Oh man, Hawk Eye, get a grip, he told himself. You sound like you're ... interested ... in Taiki. The brother of the enemy. Stop thinking about stuff like that and concentrate on protecting Fish Eye.

Of course, that was easier said than done when Taiki's lavender eyes turned in his direction and the blush deepened.

"He's pulling over!" Yaten cried. "Taiki, stop!"

Taiki turned to face front abruptly and slammed on the brakes.

\--

"It's beautiful!" Fish Eye said as he stood on the dock, looking out over the lake. The reflected moonlight on the calm water was a breathtaking image worthy of an artist's brush.

"It's pretty in the daytime, too," Seiya said, untying a rowboat from its mooring. He stepped into it and extended a hand to Fish Eye. "Come on."

The blue-haired boy hesitated. "Is this your boat, Seiya?"

"Well, not exactly." Seiya grinned. "This one and that one on the other side belong to the people in that house back there." He nodded toward a house half-hidden behind trees, set far back from the water. "They know others use them, though, and they've never complained as long as they're brought right back to this spot and tied up."

"Well, okay then." Fish Eye accepted Seiya's hand and stepped into the boat. Seiya sat down and took the oars, rowing them away from the dock.

\--

"Now what do we do?" Tiger Eye asked as the group from the red car watched the rowboat glide away.

"Well ...." Taiki looked at the other boat.

"Yeah!" Jun Jun cried and ran for it, her sisters close behind her. "Last one in is a rotten egg!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Taiki called after them. "I wasn't saying we should use it, I was only thinking we might ...."

"They're not listening, come on," Hawk Eye ran after the girls with the other boys following. By the time they reached them, the girls were already in the rowboat and Ves Ves was untying it.

"You can't take that boat, it's not yours!" Tiger Eye told them.

"People are allowed to use them," Yaten said. "But I don't think it's a good idea in this case."

"Yeah, for one thing we won't all fit," Hawk Eye pointed out. "And for another, Fish Eye and Seiya would see us for sure."

"Hawk Eye's right," Taiki said, reaching down to grasp the rope Ves Ves held. She frowned and held fast to it.

"So we won't get close, we'll just stay around the edge of the lake," she said.

"Yeah, we want to ride!" Jun Jun agreed.

"You heard them, get out!" Yaten told the girls. "You're going to get us caught!"

"Leave us alone," Cere Cere told him.

"Palla Palla wants to row, row, row the boat!"

Tiger Eye knelt on the dock and reached out to grab the edge of the rowboat while Hawk Eye tried to help Taiki in his struggle with Ves Ves over the rope. Jun Jun had grabbed hold of the end Ves Ves held so that the four of them were involved in a wobbly tug of war as the rowboat tipped and bounced.

"Let go!" Ves Ves yelled at the boys.

"YOU let go!" Hawk Eye yelled back.

"I've got the boat, you guys!" Tiger Eye looked up at them, still holding onto the boat's edge.

"Tiger Eye," Cere Cere remarked slyly. "Did you know you've got your hand on bird poop?"

"WHAT?!" Tiger Eye shoved the offending boat away from him, tipping it abruptly and losing his balance. With a cry, he fell off the dock into the water while the girls tumbled in screaming behind him. Taiki and Hawk Eye were both pulled in by the rope the girls held and Yaten was soaked by the splash of seven bodies hitting the water simultaneously.

\--

Fish Eye and Seiya looked toward the loud splash. All they could make out was a shadowy figure on the dock. It was jumping up and down, waving its arms around, and yelling incoherently.

"They only come out at night," Seiya remarked solemnly, and Fish Eye nodded agreement.

\--

End of part 7

(1998)

Character copyrights are too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 'date detectives' run into some trouble, and Fish Eye's cover story might get blown ....

Trio Trials

Part 8

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

He was going to kill them all. Slowly, and in the most painful manner possible.

"SHUT UP!" He yelled.

The din in the car stopped so abruptly that Taiki felt backlash in his ears, but at least they were quiet. And wet. He sighed and tried not to look at the mess they were making of his mother's car.

"Okay, you guys," he said firmly. "This has to stop. This bickering is what led to our being totally soaked."

"Actually, the girls are what led to that," Tiger Eye said sourly. Even though tigers liked water, they didn't particularly like it while fully dressed.

"Don't blame us!" Jun Jun protested. "We didn't do anything!"

"Didn't ...?!" Yaten stared at her incredulously. "Are you out of your mind?! LOOK at us!"

"I'd rather not look at you," the green-haired girl replied. "I might have nightmares."

Taiki opened his mouth to silence them but to his surprise, Hawk Eye beat him to it. "That's enough!" the pink-haired boy commanded. "Didn't any of you hear what Taiki just said?! Be quiet and listen for a change!"

The group grudgingly fell silent.

"Thank you, Hawk Eye," Taiki said, giving him a tired, but grateful smile.

"No problem. Most of them are my family, after all."

"You don't have to apologize for us," Tiger Eye mumbled.

"Okay, now listen up and _maybe_ we can avoid more disasters," Taiki said. "From now on, Hawk Eye and I are directing how this surveillance goes and anyone who doesn't like it can get out and walk home now."

"Walk?!" Ves Ves exclaimed. "But it's gotta be miles! And who died and made you King, anyway?!"

"I'm driving," Taiki replied.

"So what makes Hawk Eye so special?!" Yaten demanded. "I'm your brother!"

"You're also a born instigator and a loudmouth," Taiki said frankly. "Hawk Eye has a little maturity."

The others began protesting while Hawk Eye tried not to blush. He glanced in Taiki's direction and received the reward of another tiny smile.

Yaten noticed the exchange and frowned.

\--

If mermaids existed, Seiya was sure that Fish Eye would be counted among their numbers. It was obvious from the sparkle in the luminous blue eyes that he would happily dive overboard into the lake. As it was, he was resting one arm on the boat's edge, trailing his other hand lovingly in the water. He smiled over at Seiya. "Feel like a swim?" he asked.

Seiya wasn't sure whether Fish Eye was serious or kidding. He decided to be on the safe side and grinned. "Why, do you?"

"Always," Fish Eye laughed. "But it's easy for me, I can magic myself a bathing suit."

"That's a convenient talent to have," Seiya remarked. "Can't say that I have the same ability, but I'm always ready for adventure." His eyes twinkled. "If you don't mind seeing me in my underwear on the first date."

Fish Eye laughed. "I'll go in first and stay submerged until you're ready."

Before Seiya could reply, Fish Eye had magicked himself a bathing suit and dove into the water. Seiya began to undress, not sure exactly how long Fish Eye could hold his breath ... even Shifters must have their limits. As soon as he'd stripped to his underwear, he jumped into the water himself.

The shock of cold hit him but didn't surprise him as much as finding Fish Eye right in front of him under the water, grinning. He didn't seem to be in any hurry to refill his lungs with air, but Seiya didn't have any such luxury of time and surfaced as soon as he could. Fish Eye came up as well and laughed merrily. "Isn't it wonderful?"

Seiya didn't mention that it was a little cold for his taste ... he'd get used to it. Besides, the water felt somewhat warmer when he was this close to Fish Eye, who looked really pretty with beads of water shining on his eyelashes. He cocked his head. "Just how long can you stay underwater without breathing, anyway?"

"Indefinitely," Fish Eye replied. "It's one of the advantages of being half fish." He floated blissfully on his back. "When you think about it, there really aren't too many other advantages to being my kind of Shifter _except_ for being able to enjoy the water like no one else." He looked over at Seiya and smiled. "Remind me to show you the necklace I'm making sometime. I'm harvesting the pearls myself on family trips to the ocean."

Seiya grinned. "You can dive for pearls without scuba gear? That's so cool!"

"Fun, too," Fish Eye said, then added without thinking, "there's the added benefit of eating the oyster afterwards."

As soon as he'd said it he realized his mistake and fervently hoped Seiya wouldn't pick up on it. But of course, he did.

"Um, you mean you eat the oyster raw?" Seiya said hesitantly.

Fish Eye considered lying, but decided he didn't want to deceive Seiya like that. "Yes," he admitted. "It's natural for me to eat raw fish and other ocean life. Does that bother you?"

Seiya thought seriously for a moment. "I guess not," he answered. "It's like sushi, after all, only your food is fresher than most."

Fish Eye smiled radiantly at him and Seiya knew he'd said the right thing.

\--

"I'm freezing!" Yaten complained with a shiver. "If I die of pneumonia I'm taking all of you with me."

"Don't worry about it," Taiki said dryly. "When Mom sees her car upholstery, she's going to kill us, anyway."

"Aw man, you're right!" Yaten looked around at the filthy seats and soggy carpeting. "If I get spanked because of this I'll never forgive Seiya!"

"Seiya's not supposed to know we were here, remember?" Taiki pointed out. "We can't tell Mom what we were doing, either."

"Fine, so you make up a good lie and then let her wear herself out on you first."

Hawk Eye gave Taiki a concerned look. "I hope you don't get into too much trouble."

"Thanks, but it's a foregone conclusion that we will," Taiki answered. "Not just because the car is a mess, but because we didn't exactly ask before we, uh, borrowed it."

"Guess we're all in the same doghouse then," Hawk Eye said. "We sort of took our parents' car without really waiting for permission."

"And we all went out without asking," Tiger Eye said with a sigh.

"We four will be okay," Ves Ves said with confidence. "After all, you were driving. We just went along for the ride."

"No way!" Tiger Eye protested. "If we're in trouble, you're in trouble!"

Jun Jun shrugged. "None of us will be in trouble if we snitch on Fish Eye lying about his date. They'll be too mad at him to bother with us."

"You can't do that!" Yaten exclaimed. "Your parents may call our parents and then Seiya might get in trouble!"

"No one is snitching on Fish Eye," Hawk Eye said firmly. "Is that clear?" He looked significantly over his shoulder at the Quartet. "He'd probably be grounded until school starts, and if that happens, his only hobby until then will be making your lives miserable."

"He's right," Cere Cere sighed.

"Palla Palla won't say anything."

"Neither will we," Ves Ves muttered and Jun Jun nodded assent.

"Smart girls," Hawk Eye nodded.

\--

"Michiru!" Kurama called out. "Phone for you!"

The beautiful green-haired girl skipped lightly down the stairs and accepted the receiver her brother held out. "Thank you, Kurama. Now don't you dare listen in on the extension."

"When did I ever do that?" he asked in wide-eyed innocence.

"The last time you were Youko and a call came for me. You quoted snippets of conversation to me all evening!"

"That was Youko," Kurama said dismissively.

"You're one and the same when it comes down to it," Michiru said, but gave his red hair an affectionate ruffle. "Go on, give me some privacy."

"Okay." Kurama shrugged and walked away. "But I don't know why you need privacy to talk to your drycleaner."

"What?!" Michiru exclaimed, then spoke into the receiver. "Hello?"

"Michi?"

"Haruka!" Michiru's lovely face broke into a smile, then she shot a look at the empty doorway. "Hmm. Little brothers."

"Listen, Michi, you were supposed to be Fish Eye's alibi tonight before my parents messed up our plans, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Michiru said. "I've tried to stay out of sight and not answer the phone in case his parents find out."

"It may be too late," Haruka said. "Fish Eye and Seiya were at the restaurant where my parents took us."

"Oh no!" Michiru gasped. "Were they seen?"

"I spotted them sneaking out, but I don't think my parents did."

"If they were sneaking out, they must have seen you first. Poor Fishie."

"He wouldn't have to sneak around at all if he'd been honest with his parents about the date."

"Oh, don't be too hard on him, Ruka. It can't be easy for him right now, what with Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye giving him a hard time."

"Michi, the best thing that could happen to Fish Eye would be getting caught," Haruka said firmly. "He'd probably be forbidden to see Seiya again, and that would be doing him a favour."

Michiru paused a moment. "Then why didn't you point him out to your parents when you saw them?"

"Because I'm not a snitch and it's not really my business."

Michiru smiled. "I love you, you know that?"

"The feeling is very mutual," Haruka said huskily.

"I think I'm getting cavities."

Both Haruka and Michiru started at the third voice on the line, then Haruka yelled, "Yui, get off the phone and lock yourself in a jail cell because that's the only thing that'll protect you from me!"

Yui laughed and hung up the phone.

"Little sisters," Haruka grumbled.

Michiru couldn't help but laugh.

\--

Tiger Eye was leaning so far forward his nose was practically pressed to the windshield. "He's naked! I _swear_ he's naked!"

"He is not!" Yaten argued. "I tell you I saw him just before he jumped in and he was wearing underwear!"

"We didn't particularly want Fish Eye seeing that much of him, either!"

"They're only swimming, calm down," Cere Cere told him.

"Yeah!" Jun Jun piped up. "Fish Eye doesn't have enough imagination to do anything else."

"Aw, shut up, he does so!" Tiger Eye snapped.

"Tigger!" Hawk Eye yelled. "Don't say that!"

"But I only meant -- "

A sudden loud honking sound made everyone give a startled shriek. They all turned to Taiki, who had a hand over his mouth in horror.

"I leaned forward for a better look and accidentally hit the horn!"

Hawk Eye looked quickly out at the lake. "They're still splashing each other. I don't think they heard."

Taiki slumped in his seat. "Thank goodness."

"You look like you're about to faint," Palla Palla commented.

"That's because I am, dear."

Hawk Eye placed his hand over Taiki's and gave it a squeeze. "Relax," he said with an encouraging smile. Taiki felt his colour rushing back to his cheeks and managed a faint smile in response.

\--

Fish Eye was having the time of his life. Seiya was a strong swimmer, and obviously enjoyed the water. They splashed and chased each other, squealing with delight and not caring if anyone heard. Fish Eye couldn't help but steal underwater peeks at Seiya in his underwear and decided he had a fairly nice physique. Not overly muscled, slim, and well-toned. When Fish Eye climbed into the boat, he asked Seiya if he liked sports.

"I love all kinds of sports," Seiya replied, his arms resting on the edge of the boat as he bobbed in the water. "I play football, baseball, basketball ... you name it."

"Nothing personal, but you don't have the build of a football player," Fish Eye extended a hand to Seiya to help him out of the lake. "Don't you get hurt?"

"That's always a risk for anybody, but I'm fast, and they have to catch me first." He winked. Fish Eye pulled him into the boat, then politely looked away. Seiya grinned.

"Don't pretend you haven't sneaked a look already. I know better. It doesn't bother me as long as you weren't repulsed."

Fish Eye giggled even though he was blushing. "Okay, you caught me." He frowned slightly as Seiya shivered. "You're going to freeze soon. We should go back to the van."

"Good idea. I've got a change of clothes in the back, so as long as my hair dries before we go home, no one will be suspicious." He glanced at Fish Eye. "What about you?"

The blue-haired boy snapped his fingers and his curtain came down to hide him from view. When it rolled back up, he was in the same outfit he'd left the house in. "Ta-dah!"

Seiya shook his head in admiration. "I want one of those."

Fish Eye studied him thoughtfully. "Do you have any magic at all?"

Seiya hesitated, then winced. "Ouch!" He stuck his finger in his mouth. "Spwinter," he mumbled past it.

"Here, let me see." Fish Eye bent his head close to Seiya's to examine his finger.

\--

"What are they doing?!" Tiger Eye cried. "They're kissing, aren't they?!"

"I don't know, they're too far away and my night vision isn't as good as yours," Hawk Eye said, biting his lip. "They're awfully close, though."

"They've only got about an hour or so before Fish Eye has to be home, so they'll probably leave soon," Tiger Eye remarked, shifting in his seat for a better view.

"Ow!" Yaten cried. "Hey, watch where you're putting those big paws of yours!"

"You should be so lucky as to have my pretty hand touch your person," Tiger Eye retorted. Yaten's green eyes widened.

"Why, you ...."

"Palla Palla is bored," whined the smallest girl.

"Don't worry, I think things will liven up soon," Ves Ves said.

"Why's that?" Taiki asked.

"Because the boat's coming back to dock."

Everyone looked out at the lake and saw she was right.

"We have to move the car before they get close enough to see it!" Taiki moved to turn the engine on, but Yaten threw himself across the seat to grab his wrist.

"No, they're too close already! They'll hear the engine and see the lights!"

"Tiger Eye, come on!" Hawk Eye reached across Yaten and his brother to fling open the door. "We have to push!"

The two Shifters were soon putting their muscle into pushing the car back out of sight, and Taiki ran to join them.

"Hey, why don't you help them?" Jun Jun asked Yaten.

"There's no room for a fourth person up there," Yaten replied.

"Besides, you might have to break a sweat," Ves Ves said dryly.

"At least you could have stayed out of the car so they wouldn't have to push your extra weight," Cere Cere remarked. Yaten shot her a glare.

"My weight certainly isn't equal to the four of you, and I don't see you leaping out there."

"Doesn't matter now," Jun Jun commented. "They've got it rolling pretty well."

"Um, Palla Palla wants to know why the boys are so far away ...?"

The girls and Yaten looked up to see horrified expressions on the boys' faces even as they rolled further away from them down an incline.

\--

"I can't believe I forgot about that dip!" Taiki cried as they chased the car.

"That's no way to talk about your brother!" Tiger Eye declared.

"I meant the dip in the road!"

"Just RUN!" Hawk Eye yelled.

The boys could hear what could have been either screaming or cheering as the car missed a turn at the base of the incline and slowed to a stop just short of hitting a tree.

Taiki reached it first and flung open the door. "Is everyone all right?!"

Yaten's eyes were closed and he was white. "Next time ... I'll push."

"That was awesome!" Jun Jun exclaimed.

"Wild!" chimed in Ves Ves.

"Palla Palla wants to do it again!"

"Too bumpy," commented Cere Cere.

Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye slumped against the car while Taiki walked around it. "I don't think there was any damage. Unbelievable."

"Well," Hawk Eye managed a weak grin. "At least we're out of sight."

Taiki chuckled. "Let's get in and once I've had a moment to stop shaking, we can park by the main road and follow them when they come out."

\--

Michiru looked up at the knock on her bedroom door. "Come in!"

Setsuna opened it and smiled at her daughter. "Hi honey, I've come to ask you a favour." She frowned slightly at the closed curtains. "Why is your window all shut up? It's a warm night."

"Oh, um, I was trying on my new sweater earlier and shut the curtains then forgot to open them again," Michiru replied, then quickly changed the subject, "What was the favour?"

Setsuna held up a book. "Would you mind taking this cookbook over to Nuriko's for me?"

Michiru went pale. "N-Nuriko's?"

"Yes, we were talking earlier today and I offered to loan it to him, but I couldn't find it at the time. I just came across it in the pantry."

"Couldn't it wait until tomorrow? It's dark out."

Setsuna looked puzzled. "It's right next door, honey. And since when does the dark frighten you? I'd go myself, but your aunt is supposed to call long-distance sometime tonight and I don't want to leave."

"Can't Kurama take it?" Michiru asked desperately.

Her mother began to look irritated. "He and your father are playing some kind of video game in the den. However, you don't appear to be busy, so why are you resisting so hard?"

Michiru thought fast. "I pulled a muscle swimming earlier and wanted to rest my leg."

"I didn't notice you being in any particular pain this evening," Setsuna remarked. "Besides, the best thing for a sore muscle is exercise so it doesn't stiffen up." She held out the cookbook with an unyielding expression. Michiru reluctantly reached out to accept it.

"Thank you," her mother said and left the room. Michiru gazed helplessly down at the book cover.

"‘Fifty Ways to Cook a Fish'", she read aloud, then sighed miserably. "I know one: Blow their cover."

\--

End of part 8

(1998)

Character copyrights are too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The infamous date comes to an end, but complications are arising in the cover story.

Trio Trials

Part 9

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

Haruka looked up from her book and frowned slightly. She thought she'd heard something, but wasn't sure.

Then it came again, a light smattering of taps against her bedroom window. She leapt to her feet and threw it open - just in time for a pebble to bounce off the tip of her nose. "Hey!"

"Sorry!" Michiru giggled from down below. "Can you come down?"

"Be right there." Haruka ducked through the window and got a solid footing on the sturdy tree branch that extended outside of it. There was a brief moment of risk when she had to relinquish her hold on the window sill, but it passed in a heartbeat and she was soon scaling down the tree to land in front of her girlfriend. "Fancy meeting you here." She grinned. "What's up?"

Michiru gave her a sheepish look. "I need you to do me a favour."

"You know I'll do anything for you." Haruka glided her hands over Michiru's shoulders, leaning forward to kiss her lightly. "What is it?"

The cover of a cookbook suddenly appeared in front of Haruka's nose. "Would you take this over to Fish Eye's house and give it to his mother?"

Haruka took the book in her hands and looked at it, then faced Michiru with a puzzled expression. "I don't get it. Why all the espionage stuff to deliver a cookbook?"

"Mama wants ME to do it," Michiru explained.

"Oh, okay." Haruka nodded slowly. "And you can't, because then Fish Eye's cover is blown."

"That's right," Michiru said in relief. "So you don't mind then?"

"No, I guess not. Although I personally think Fish Eye _should_ get caught, you'd get into trouble for trying to cover for him and we can't have that. I'll take the book over now."

Michiru entwined her fingers in Haruka's golden hair and gave her a deep kiss. "Thank you, love," she murmured.

Haruka smiled. "For thanks like that I'll deliver a truckload of books." She gave Michiru's head a light tap with the book. "Go on and get home before your mother decides you've been gone too long."

"See you tomorrow." Michiru waved and disappeared around the corner of the house. Haruka looked down at the cookbook and shook her head.

"I'm not wrapped around her little finger, really I'm not." She chuckled and headed across the street.

\--

"Mmm," Fish Eye said appreciatively as he licked his ice cream cone, "what a perfect way to end the evening."

Seiya's attention was divided between his own cone and watching Fish Eye as his tongue delicately swiped at the creamy treat. "I'm sorry we have to go home in a few minutes," he managed to say without his voice cracking. "It's been a lot of fun."

Fish Eye gifted him with a smile. "For me, too."

"Do you think," Seiya said slowly, "we could go out again sometime?" That sounds lame, he thought in disgust. Where was his usual confidence? He hadn't even looked in Fish Eye's direction when he asked because he'd been afraid to see hesitation in his eyes. A hand touched his arm and he looked up to meet Fish Eye's gaze.

"I'd love to." The blue-haired boy smiled.

Seiya grinned back and decided to risk putting an arm around Fish Eye as they continued on their way to the van. Fish Eye leaned into the embrace and lay his head on Seiya's shoulder.

\--

It was awkward for eight people to all duck down at once in a sports car, but they were managing.

"Your hair is in my mouth!"

"Ew! Don't slime it up! Gimme my ponytail back!"

"It's not like I _wanted_ your hair in my mouth!"

"Your elbow is digging into my ear!"

"Whose?!"

"I don't know! How can I tell with my face in someone's back?!"

Taiki peered up through the windshield. "They're leaving!" he announced and sat up. The others followed suit in relief as he started the engine.

"There!" Yaten faced Tiger Eye triumphantly. "We told you that Seiya wouldn't do anything to Fish Eye! You owe him an apology!"

"Yaten, they can't apologize to Seiya or he'll know we all followed him," Taiki said sensibly.

"Well, they can apologize to us and we can accept for him!"

"Don't speak too soon," Ves Ves said mischievously. "There's still the goodnight kiss!"

Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye exchanged a look. "Fishie won't kiss on the first date," Tiger Eye concluded. "I'll bet Seiya will try to make him, though."

Yaten's green eyes glittered with fury. "You'd better take that back!"

"Everyone hush," Taiki told them. "We'll see the end of this date soon enough and then maybe we can get back to normal lives."

"You mean sudden death when Mom sees her car," Yaten muttered.

\--

The front door opened and Sanosuke smiled at Haruka. "Good evening, Haruka. How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks." Haruka held out the book. "This is for Nuriko."

"What's for me?" Nuriko asked as he came out of the kitchen. His eyes lit up as they fell on the book. "Oh! This is the one that Setsuna was talking about." He took it and flipped through the pages. "Fish Eye will love some of these recipes."

"Speaking of Fish Eye, I'm sorry he hijacked your girlfriend this evening," Sansosuke told Haruka.

She winced inside. This was exactly what she hadn't wanted to get into. "Uh, that's okay," she said. "My parents wanted to take Yui and I out, anyway."

"Where did you go?" Nuriko asked.

"Their favourite restaurant - we go there at least once a month." Haruka shifted uneasily. "I'd better get home."

"Thank you for bringing this over," Nuriko said, then frowned. "But ... how did _you_ get it?"

Uh oh! Haruka thought fast. "Setsuna came over to see my mother - she was coming here next and had the book. Kenshin called her home, though, so I offered to bring it." She started backing up slowly. "Um ... well ... goodnight!"

The Trio's parents watched her make a beeline across the street.

"I wonder if she's always been that strange or if it's something new," Sanosuke remarked.

\--

Seiya pulled the van up to the curb and stopped, turning in his seat to look at Fish Eye. "I wish I could drive you right to your house and walk you to your front door."

"Next time," Fish Eye promised.

"I really enjoyed myself," Seiya said. "I hope you did, too."

"If I hadn't, I wouldn't have agreed to go out with you again," Fish Eye teased.

"I guess not," Seiya smiled, meeting the blue-haired boy's eyes.

\--

Everyone in Apricot's parked car leaned forward.

"They're staring at each other!" Jun Jun exclaimed. "When are they going to DO something?"

"Never, I hope," Tiger Eye said.

Yaten's eyes widened. "You hoped too soon."

\--

His lips were soft and warm. Fish Eye didn't want it to end.

Seiya broke off the kiss first, smiling at Fish Eye. "You surprise me."

"Why?" Fish Eye asked. "Because I kissed you? It didn't look like you were going to do it and one of us had to."

Seiya laughed lightly. "We did?"

"Well," Fish Eye grinned slyly. "I wanted to."

"And I'm glad you did." Seiya leaned over and gave Fish Eye his second kiss of the night, then whispered in his ear, "The only reason I didn't do it first was because I didn't want you to believe what your brothers said about me."

Fish Eye put his hand on Seiya's cheek and looked straight into his midnight-blue eyes. "Do you think less of me because I kissed you first?"

"No," Seiya admitted truthfully.

"Then shut up," Fish Eye told him and gave him another, deeper kiss.

\--

The shocked silence in the red car was broken by Palla Palla.

"Fish Eye _kissed_ him!"

"Twice!" Jun Jun exclaimed.

"I don't know, the last one is still going on," Ves Ves commented. "It may count as three or four times in one."

"Seiya kissed him, too!" Tiger Eye declared.

"But only after Fish Eye kissed him first!" Yaten shot back.

"None of that matters now, you guys," Taiki interrupted. "Look, Fish Eye is getting out of the van, so we have to go back and pick up the other car at the aquarium before we all can go home, too."

"I'm still waiting for these guys to admit Seiya was a gentleman," Yaten said smugly, giving Fish Eye's brothers a deliberate look.

Hawk Eye sighed. "Okay, you were right. Seiya was completely above-board with Fishie and he showed him a good time. I'm sorry I was so suspicious."

Taiki smiled at him. "It takes a lot to admit you were wrong. Thank you, Hawk Eye."

The muscular pink-haired boy returned his smile, his cheeks colouring slightly.

Yaten turned to Tiger Eye. "What about you, Doubting Tomcat?"

"I guess Seiya didn't do anything wrong," he grumbled. "I'm sorry, too."

"What time is it?" Cere Cere asked suddenly.

Hawk Eye glanced at the dashboard clock. "About ten minutes until curfew." He groaned. "We'll never pick up the car and get back in time!"

"In that case, we're getting out here," Ves Ves said, jumping out of the car.

"Yeah, no reason for ALL of us to get into trouble," Jun Jun agreed as she hopped out.

"Your loyalty is heartwarming," Tiger Eye snapped at the departing Quartet.

"They've got a point, Tigger, why don't you go with them?" Hawk Eye suggested. "Only one of us needs to drive the car back, and the other may as well get in on time."

"No, I'll stay with you," Tiger Eye insisted. "It wouldn't be fair."

"Uh, guys?" Taiki spoke up. "Yaten and I are already going to be later than anyone and we're bringing back our mother's filthy car, too. Could you make a decision soon so we stand some hope of surviving this?"

"Drive," Tiger Eye told him before Hawk Eye could respond. Taiki pulled away from the curb.

"You didn't have to do this, Tigger," Hawk Eye sighed.

Tiger Eye twisted a piece of hair around his finger and smiled, shrugging. "We left together, we should go home together."

"Have you thought of any good excuses, Taiki?" Yaten asked. "I'm counting on your superior brain here."

"You think Mom would buy a story about being abducted by space aliens?" Taiki offered.

"What about the condition of the car?"

"The aliens performed dirt-tolerance experiments on it."

Yaten slumped in his seat. "We're doomed."

\--

"I'm home!" Fish Eye announced.

Sanosuke and Nuriko looked up from the couch. "Did you and Michiru have fun?"

"Yep!" he said. "I'm pretty tired, though. I'm going to bed."

"Okay, honey," Nuriko said. "Goodnight."

Fish Eye turned to go up the stairs when a series of thumps and the banging of the front door indicated another arrival.

"Is that you, girls?" Sano asked.

"Yes." The Quartet walked in and glanced at Fish Eye, who frowned.

"Why are your clothes wet?" he asked. "You look like drowned rats."

"Freak shower," Jun Jun replied.

Fish Eye shook his head. "I guess it only rained on the freaks," he murmured and went upstairs.

"What did he say?" Cere Cere asked suspiciously.

"Never mind that now," Nuriko told her. "We want to know where you took off to and why you've been gone all evening."

"We went shopping," Ves Ves said.

"All evening?" Sano asked skeptically. "And didn't buy anything?"

"We were just reacquainting ourselves with the town," Cere Cere replied. "Next time we'll bring money."

"Next time bring a watch, too," Nuriko warned. "You were almost late."

"Where are the boys?" Palla Palla asked innocently.

"They're still out." Sanosuke frowned. "And now they ARE late."

\--

"The car! At last!" Tiger Eye exclaimed as they pulled into the aquarium parking lot.

"Must be nice to have a car to return that's in decent condition," Yaten said sourly.

Tiger Eye looked at him, feeling a rush of pity. It was true, he wouldn't want to bring his parents' car home if it was as dirty and wet as this one was. "I'm really sorry," he said. "I wish there was something I could do."

Yaten's eyebrows lifted. "Would you tell my mother you stole her car for a joyride and messed it up?"

"No," Tiger Eye said flatly. "I draw the sympathy line at jail."

"Figures."

\--

Taiki watched Hawk Eye get out of the car. "I guess we all wasted our time, huh?"

Hawk Eye closed the door and leaned on the open window. "Oh, I don't know," he said softly, blushing. "I don't think spending time with you was a waste, Taiki."

Yaten's head whipped around at that, but Taiki just blinked, then smiled.

"That's nice of you, Hawk Eye, thank you."

"Maybe we could go out sometime?" the Shifter asked hopefully.

"On a date?!" Yaten exclaimed.

Taiki's smile widened. "Sure, that'd be great."

Hawk Eye looked happy. "Cool! I'll call you, okay?"

"All right," Taiki agreed.

Tiger Eye honked the horn of the other car. "Come on, Hawk Eye!" he called out the window.

"Yeah, come on!" Yaten complained. "There's no point in setting up any stupid dates when you're gonna be grounded forever IF Mom lets you live!"

Hawk Eye and Taiki exchanged looks of regret. "Bye for now," Hawk Eye said.

"Bye," Taiki said softly.

Hawk Eye gave him another quick smile, then jogged over to the other car.

"What took you so long?!" Tiger Eye wailed.

Hawk Eye didn't respond, and Tiger Eye couldn't help but wonder what the heck he was smiling about at a time like this.

\--

End of part 9

(1998)

Character copyrights are too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fish Eye saves his brothers, but who will save him when his story starts to unravel?

Trio Trials

Part 10

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

Fish Eye finished getting changed, frowning. Where were Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye? He was sure they'd be waiting to pounce when he got home, but they weren't even home themselves. With a shrug, he decided to just go to bed. He supposed he could wait until morning to say ‘I told you so' about Seiya.

The sound of the front door opening made him look up. On the other hand, he thought, he couldn't wait until morning to find out why they'd missed curfew. Stealthily, Fish Eye slipped down the stairs and peeked around the doorway into the living room.

"We're sorry," Hawk Eye was saying.

"Sorry isn't enough," Nuriko said sternly. "Not only are you late, but you never asked permission to take the car in the first place!"

"We know," Tiger Eye replied. "We were kind of in a hurry."

"To go where?" Sanosuke asked.

"We told you when we left," Hawk Eye said. "We went to watch Haruka race. I told Tiger Eye how fast she is and -."

Nuriko's maroon eyes narrowed. "Don't lie to us, boys."

"L-lie?" Hawk Eye said faintly.

"Haruka went out to dinner with her parents tonight," Sano told them. "She came over here afterwards to deliver a book for Michiru's mother."

The boys exchanged a defeated look. "Are you going to tell us the truth?" Nuriko asked.

"We can't," Hawk Eye said quietly. "I can only promise you that it wasn't illegal or dangerous."

"Would you be more willing to talk if I took a belt to you?" Sano asked seriously.

Fish Eye gasped, covering his mouth. A belt? His father only did that for what he considered the worst offenses. As annoying as they could be, Fish Eye didn't want to see that happen to his brothers. He rushed into the room.

"Don't, Papa!" he protested. "I know where they were!"

Everyone looked at him in surprise. "Fish Eye, what are you talking about?" Nuriko asked.

"Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye," he said. "They were with me all night - following us around."

He was looking so intently at his parents that he didn't see his brothers go pale.

"Fishie!" Hawk Eye gasped.

"They decided it would be fun to tease Michiru and I, so they tailed us everywhere we went," Fish Eye continued. "I didn't say anything earlier because they said they'd do all my chores for a week if I didn't tell."

"And we didn't want to tell you the truth because we knew you wouldn't like us harassing Fishie," Tiger Eye said quickly.

Nuriko and Sanosuke studied their children for a long time before turning to each other in a moment of silent communication.

"All right," Sano said finally, shifting his attention to the boys once more, "but why did you arrive home so much later than Fish Eye?"

"It would have looked suspicious to come home at the same time," Hawk Eye shrugged.

"I have to admit, I don't understand you boys," Nuriko said, shaking his head. "You must have known how angry we would be if you refused outright to tell us where you'd been, but you feared our anger over the truth more?"

"We panicked, I guess," Hawk Eye admitted.

"Well," Sanosuke said, "we _don't_ like that you ruined your brother's evening - "

"They didn't really," Fish Eye interrupted. "We ignored them after a while."

"Fish Eye, what we don't like is that there was no reason for it," Nuriko told him. "We're glad you and Michiru had fun in spite of them, but they could have found something more constructive to do with their time."

"And they shouldn't have tried to lie about it," Sano added. "Plus they missed curfew."

"Not really worth it, was it?" Tiger Eye pouted prettily.

"No," Sanosuke answered. "You're both grounded tomorrow, and your mother will give you a list of extra chores you can take care of."

"Fish Eye, since you were the one being tailed, we won't punish you for blackmailing your brothers," Nuriko said. "But don't do it again."

"Okay, Mama," Fish Eye said. "May I go to bed now?"

"Yes," Sanosuke replied and nodded at Tiger Eye and Hawk Eye. "You two go as well."

The boys filed up the stairs.

"Goodnight, you guys." Fish Eye headed for his room.

"Wait, Fishie!" Hawk Eye touched his arm. "Why did you lie like that?"

"Why do you think?" Fish Eye grinned. "To save your worthless hides."

"But we gave you a hard time about dating Seiya," Tiger Eye pointed out.

"Yes," Fish Eye agreed, "but you didn't tell Mama and Papa about my date, so I guess I owed you one. Besides," he added, "I didn't want Papa to use the belt on you."

Both his brothers hugged him at once, causing Fish Eye to yelp. "Hey, I'm getting squished!" He giggled.

"Thanks, Fishie!" Hawk Eye said. "Thanks a lot!"

"Yeah!" Tiger Eye agreed.

"You're just lucky I was in a good mood," he told them. "Seiya's a wonderful guy, you know, and we had a good time."

"We're glad," Hawk Eye said honestly.

Fish Eye looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah," Tiger Eye told him. "You obviously enjoyed yourself, so he must be okay."

Fish Eye shook his head in wonder. "Boy, if a close call makes you guys do complete turnarounds like this all the time it should happen more often! Goodnight."

His brothers watched him go into his room, then looked at each other.

"I feel like scum," Hawk Eye said. "Do you feel like scum?"

"I guess so," Tiger Eye admitted, then grinned. "But it beats not being able to sit down."

\--

Seiya came out of the shower humming. The date with Fish Eye had gone so well, and Fish Eye had kissed HIM first! Could the night have been any better?

The front door slammed downstairs, making him jump. He heard shouting, and walked over to the bedroom doorway to hear what was going on.

"What the hell did you two do to my car?!"

Seiya blinked. His mother's voice. His mother's very angry voice. Taiki and Yaten must be home, but what could have happened?

"We were in a little accident, Mom," Taiki said. "But the car isn't damaged, just dirty."

"Accident?" their mother, Apricot, repeated. "Were you hurt? Or anyone else?"

"Not yet," Yaten answered with a sigh.

Seiya heard a chuckle and knew his father was on the scene as well.

"Da Cider, don't you dare laugh!" Apricot confirmed. "It's not funny!"

"Aw, lighten up, honey!" their father said easily. "The kids are okay and like they said the car's just dirty. I'm sure they'll clean it up for you tomorrow."

"Will you stop doing that?!" Apricot sounded frustrated. "Stop minimizing the bad things they do - they'll never learn that way!"

"It's not like they were out committing arson or anything, relax!"

Seiya saw his brothers slip up the stairs. His parents apparently didn't notice, since their argument continued without them.

"I hate when they fight like that." Taiki sighed. "Especially when it's our fault."

"You'd hate getting spanked worse," Yaten told him. "Let's just go to bed and Mom will have cooled off by morning."

"So where were you guys, anyway?" Seiya asked them.

His brothers exchanged a look and Yaten shrugged. "Nowhere special. Goodnight."

Seiya watched him go, then looked at Taiki. "Well?"

"Uh," Taiki stammered. "We ... uh ... it's not important. How was your date?"

Seiya's face lit up. "Wonderful! Fish Eye is so cute and fun to be with, you'll like him, too, once you get to know him, you'll see."

"I'm sure you're right," Taiki replied with a faint smile. "Goodnight, Seiya."

The black-haired boy watched his taller brother head for his room and shook his head. Hopefully the two of them would be back to normal by morning, too.

\--

Tiger Eye grimaced as he yanked another of the seemingly endless weeds out from along the fence. He examined his hands mournfully. "My skin is getting ruined doing this. I detest weeding."

"Would you rather mow the lawn?" Fish Eye asked him. "That's what Hawk Eye has to do when he gets home from work this afternoon."

"No, I hate doing that, too." Tiger Eye looked over to where the Quartet were playing some kind of game that seemed to be a mixture of soccer and volleyball. "I can't believe they got off scot-free," he muttered.

Fish Eye frowned. "What are you talking about? What did they do?"

"Uh, nothing." Tiger Eye turned back to his weeding. "Hey, Fishie," he said thoughtfully, "what do you know about Yaten Kou?"

"Not much yet, but I guess I'll be seeing more of him if Seiya and I keep dating," Fish Eye said. "My first impressions weren't great, though, you know that. Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

"Hi Fishie!" Michiru waved as she came out of her house.

"Michi, hi!" Fish Eye ran to meet her at the fence. "Listen, thanks a lot for covering for me yesterday, I appreciate it!"

Michiru giggled. "Things got a little complicated - Haruka had to do some covering for ME so I could cover for you! I hope we don't have to do this again for a long time."

"Oh, me too!" Fish Eye said. "I'll be sure to thank Haruka. Is she home today?"

"She's working this morning, I think with Hawk Eye."

"Yes, he's working, too. Then he has to come home and do yard work." Fish Eye shook his head. "I don't know what was going on, but he and Tiger Eye came back late last night and won't tell anyone where they were. I had to save their butts with Mama and Papa, but they still wound up in trouble." He nodded in Tiger Eye's direction. The blonde gave Michiru a dirty-handed wave.

"Hello, Tiger Eye," Michiru said with a smile. "So where did you go that's such a big secret?"

"If I could tell you, it wouldn't be a secret," Tiger Eye replied. He stood up and brushed off his hands on his jeans. "I'm going to start work on the weeds around the tree now. See you later."

"Watch the girls don't bop you with their ball," Fish Eye warned.

Michiru waited until Tiger Eye was out of earshot then turned back to Fish Eye. "So tell me everything!" she said, her blue eyes glittering with excitement. "How was the big date?"

"It was great!" Fish Eye told her. "Seiya was a perfect gentleman. You'll tell Haruka that, won't you? My brothers have accepted that I'm going to date him, they actually seem okay about it now."

"Hawk Eye will probably tell her that himself, if he really feels that way," Michiru said. "I'm really glad you had such a good time."

"Oh, I did! We had a wonderful dinner, we went for a boat ride and he took me to the aquarium, Michi! Wasn't that a thoughtful idea?"

"Sounds like something Haruka would do." Michiru smiled fondly. "On one of our first dates, she arranged a picnic on the beach because she knew I'd love it. If Seiya is anywhere near as thoughtful as Haruka, you'll be treated like a princess."

"I can live with that." Fish Eye grinned.

"Heads up!" Jun Jun called out a split-second before their ball bounced off Fish Eye's head. He assumed a flat-eyed look.

"Michi, how would you feel about going for a walk or something?"

"Sounds like a safer idea than standing around here," Michiru agreed, trying not to smile.

\--

"Kurama, honey, where's your sister?" Setsuna asked as her redhaired son came down the stairs.

"I saw her leave a few minutes ago with Fish Eye," Kurama answered. "Do you want me to run after her? She can't have gotten far."

"No, it's all right," Setsuna said. "I was going over to Nuriko's and wondered if she wanted to come with me and visit with Fish Eye but I guess she found him anyway."

The doorbell rang and Kurama went to open it. "Good morning, Zoisite. Mama's right here."

"Zoi, hi!" Setsuna walked over. "What's up?"

"I was heading over to Nuriko's and wondered if you'd like to come with me," Zoisite said, holding up a bowl of fresh-baked muffins. "You know he's got seven children there with him now, right? I figured he might enjoy some adult company."

"We must have been on the same wavelength, I was going there myself." Setsuna looked back at Kurama. "You can come, too, if you like. I think the girls are all over there playing in the backyard."

"That's okay," Kurama said hastily. "They're cute, but I think they'd be a little overwhelming all at once without someone there to act as a buffer."

Zoisite laughed. "Good point. Come on, Set, let‘s go."

\--

Haruka wiped her eyes but the tears kept coming. And every time she looked at Hawk Eye, fresh gales of laughter would create another waterfall of mirth.

"Haruka, people are starting to stare, would you shut up already?" Hawk Eye looked around the gas station nervously. "Besides, it's not that funny!"

"How can you SAY that?!" Haruka exclaimed. She looked around and lowered her voice. "You tell me that you, Tiger Eye, Yaten, Taiki, and your four cousins followed Seiya and Fish Eye all over town last night in one car and among other things you ran out on an ice cream bill, rolled downhill backwards, and fell in the lake, and this isn't funny?!" She started laughing again, holding her sides that were beginning to hurt.

"I wouldn't have told you if I knew you'd react like this," Hawk Eye grumbled. "Just don't tell anyone else, okay? Fish Eye would never forgive us."

"Don't worry, I won't even tell Michiru," Haruka straightened up and began getting herself together, grinning. "Thanks for telling me, though. I needed the laugh."

"Ha ha. Glad to oblige," Hawk Eye said flatly.

Haruka gave him a friendly punch on the arm. "So after all that, I guess you changed your mind about Seiya?"

"Yeah, I didn't really have much choice, since he was really nice to Fish Eye all night and heck, when they finally kissed, it was Fish Eye who made the first move." Hawk Eye shrugged. "I won't give him any grief if he wants to keep dating him." He looked at Haruka. "How about you? Has your opinion changed because of what I told you?"

Haruka looked thoughtful. "I guess so," she admitted. "Seiya could have taken advantage of Fish Eye, but he didn't. There's no way he could have known you guys were tailing him, right?"

"With Taiki and Yaten there? He'd have come over and knocked their heads together, I think." Hawk Eye paused, then regarded Haruka curiously, "Tell me something - I know you never liked Seiya, but you didn't have anything against Taiki, right?"

Haruka shrugged. "I never really spent any time with him. Sometimes he seems like a bit of a snob, but then people have said the same thing about Michiru and I. I saw him goofing around with Yaten once and he was pretty funny. He's probably okay." A slow smile spread across her beautiful face. "Why would you ask? When you were together with Taiki in that car for hours last night did you come to some realizations?"

"I don't know." Hawk Eye turned away, but not before Haruka caught sight of the blush in his cheeks.

"Hey, they haven't passed a law against being interested in someone, you know," Haruka teased. "Go for it."

"Really?" Hawk Eye looked at her in surprise. "You think I should?"

"Why not?" Haruka asked. "I was wrong about Seiya and Fish Eye, so I'm not going to advise against this, and there's no reason to, anyway."

"Hi!" Michiru waved as she and Fish Eye came across the pavement toward them.

"Remember, not a word about last night," Hawk Eye begged.

"Don't worry so much, I can keep a secret," Haruka told him. She leaned over to give Michiru a kiss as she walked up, but the green-haired beauty took a step back, wagging a finger at her.

"You'd have me get grease all over this dress?" she asked. "Shame on you."

"My lips are grease-free," Haruka assured her. "I promise, I won't touch you."

"Hmm, okay." Michiru leaned over and kissed Haruka's lips, the blonde obediently keeping her hands behind her back.

"You owe me a hug later," Haruka told her.

"That's a deal," Michiru said.

"How's it going, Hawk Eye?" Fish Eye asked.

"Things are slow right now. Haruka says it'll pick up later, though. How's Tiger Eye doing with his yard work?"

"Complaining every minute, what else?" Fish Eye smiled, then looked at Haruka. "Michiru told me you helped cover my story last night. Thank you."

Haruka nodded. "You're welcome. Hawk Eye was saying your date went well - I guess I was wrong about Seiya."

"It's nice of you to say so," Fish Eye told her. "I'd like for all of us to be friends."

"Maybe one of us should host a party or something," Haruka suggested. "We can get to know Seiya and his siblings on a different level, and your cousins can meet the rest of us."

"That's a great idea!" Hawk Eye agreed. "If they meet others, they may actually get out of the house and we won't have to deal with them so much!"

Michiru smiled. "I don't think that's quite what Haruka had in mind, but I like the idea of a party."

"We should probably hold it at our house, since we'd have the most kids already in one place," Fish Eye said. "I'll talk to Mama about it."

"Good opportunity to get to know someone new, right Hawk Eye?" Haruka said mischievously, then moved away to serve a customer. Michiru and Fish Eye looked at Hawk Eye for clarification, but he ran to help Haruka, his face turning red enough to clash with his hair.

\--

"I was thinking a barbecue would be a nice idea, don't you?" Setsuna asked her friends as they sat on Nuriko's back patio and enjoyed the sunshine. "You and Sanosuke still haven't met everyone, and it would be a good opportunity for the kids to mingle as well."

"That's right, you have GOT to meet Apricot," Zoisite told Nuriko. "She a great person, and her children are the same age as yours, too."

"Are she and Da Cider still having problems?" Setsuna asked Zoisite worriedly.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I hope not, but even if they are, a get-together would be a nice break for them."

"It sounds good to me, and I think we should have it right here," Nuriko said. "It wouldn't be fair to bring all seven kids over to someone else's place. Mmm, Zoisite, these muffins are great!" He reached for another one.

"Thanks!" Zoisite grinned. "I'm lucky I was able to smuggle any out of the house the way Kunzite and Haruka were inhaling them."

"Speaking of Haruka, it was nice of her to help Hawk Eye get the job at the gas station," Nuriko remarked. "It's only been a couple of shifts, but he seems to like it there."

"What about your other boys?" Setsuna asked. "Do they like their new jobs?"

"No." Nuriko laughed. "But I think they're going to try and stick it out, if only to have an excuse to get away from their cousins." He looked over to where the girls were having a wonderful time climbing the big tree in their yard while Tiger Eye tried in vain to pull the weeds around it.

"Have the girls been that much trouble so far?" Zoisite asked.

"Not exactly. In fact, they were out all yesterday evening." Nuriko sipped his iced tea. "At least they made it back in time for curfew. I can't say the same for the boys. Oh Setsuna, please tell Michiru how sorry I am that they pestered she and Fish Eye last night - believe me, it won't happen again."

Setsuna looked puzzled. "I'm not sure what you mean. Who pestered whom and when?"

"The boys told me how they followed Michiru and Fish Eye all over town last night when they were shopping," Nuriko said. "Didn't Michiru mention it?"

"I don't understand," Setsuna frowned. "Michiru was at home all evening. Don't you remember how she brought the cookbook over here for you?"

Now Nuriko looked confused. "But ... Haruka brought the book over."

"What?" Zoisite looked up. "How did Haruka get into this?"

"As I said, she brought the cookbook over," Nuriko replied. "She said Setsuna brought it with her to your house, but Kenshin called her home, so Haruka offered to bring it over."

Zoisite and Setsuna exchanged bewildered looks. "We didn't see each other last night, Nuriko," Zoisite told him. "Kunzite and I went out for dinner with the girls, and after that we all spent the evening at home, but we didn't have any visitors."

"And I never left my house at all," Setsuna said. "I was waiting for a long-distance call, that's why I sent Michiru out with the book. She gave me a hard time about it, too, which isn't like her."

"This is getting more complicated by the minute." Nuriko shook his head. "Fish Eye said the boys followed he and Michiru around all night, and Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye admitted it, but Michiru never went out except to deliver the book that Haruka brought over instead?"

"Haruka lied to you, Nuriko, I'm sorry," Zoisite said. "I don't know why or what‘s going on, but I'll certainly be talking to her about it."

"I have a few questions for Michiru, too," Setsuna remarked. "Why did she not deliver the book herself? Especially when one of her feeble excuses was that she‘d pulled a muscle. She had to walk twice as far to bring the book to Zoisite's!"

"All I want to know is if Fish Eye wasn't out with Michiru last night, where was he and why are his brothers helping him cover it up?" Nuriko wondered out loud, his expression grim.

"Hi Mama!" Fish Eye said cheerfully as he and Michiru came around the corner of the house. "We have something to ask you!"

The adults turned to look at them. "What a coincidence," Nuriko said evenly. "We have a few things to ask you, too."

\--

End of part 10

(1998)

Character copyrights are too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids race to each others' rescue as the whole truth about Fish Eye's date night comes out.

Trio Trials

Part 11

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

Fish Eye swallowed and glanced at Michiru, who looked pretty nervous herself. Their mothers and Zoisite had just finished explaining how their stories and Haruka's didn't gel. Nuriko had a look in his maroon eyes that Fish Eye recognized and it wasn't good news for him. Things were so tense that Tiger Eye and the Quartet had stopped what they were doing and were watching from across the yard.

"Fish Eye," Nuriko said evenly, "I want the truth and I want it now. What were you doing last night?"

There was nothing else he could do. If he kept lying now, it would only go worse later, if that were even possible. "I ...," he started to say, then took a deep breath before trying again. "I was on a date, Mama."

Nuriko sat back and studied him. "With who?"

Tiger Eye came over, no longer concerned with the dirt on his hands. The Quartet quickly followed. "Mama, is something wrong?" Tiger Eye asked.

"I just learned that your brother lied and was actually on a date last night." Nuriko gave him a sideways glance. "Which means that you all lied about what you and Hawk Eye were doing, too."

"Uh ... Ah ...," caught off-guard, Tiger Eye didn't know what to say. He looked frantically at Fish Eye, whose defeated expression gave him his answer.

"All of you look like you know the truth," Nuriko said. "Care to enlighten us? Who was Fish Eye's date and what do all of you have to do with it?"

"One of my co-workers asked me out," Fish Eye answered. "His name is Seiya Kou, and he was a perfect gentleman."

"Seiya is one of Apricot's children," Setsuna said.

"He _is_ a nice boy, Nuriko," Zoisite said. "Although Haruka doesn't like him."

"Haruka saw Seiya as a rival," Michiru said. "But she'll come around now that he's dated Fish Eye."

"The next question is, if this kid is so nice, why didn't you just tell us the truth instead of lying and covering it up?" Nuriko asked Fish Eye.

The blue-haired boy glanced at his cousins. "I thought it would be too cruel to subject Seiya to that. Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye didn't trust him already because of what Haruka had said, and I was afraid the girls would give him a hard time just for the fun of it."

"Aw, it was more fun following you both on the date!" Palla Palla grinned.

The other girls groaned while Fish Eye stared.

"You did _what_?!" he cried. "You little snoops!"

"Hey, they did it, too!" Jun Jun pointed at Tiger Eye. "That's what he and Hawk Eye were really doing!"

"And Seiya's brothers, too!" Cere Cere added.

"All EIGHT of you were following us?!" Fish Eye exclaimed. "I don't believe this!"

"Time to start at the beginning," Nuriko said firmly, looking around at all the kids. "Fish Eye, you start. The rest of you, feel free to add information where necessary. By the time you're finished, I expect to know the whole story."

Fish Eye glared at his brother. "So do I!"

Tiger Eye swallowed.

\--

The phone rang in the Kou household and Yaten picked it up. "Yeah?"

"Yaten, is that any way to answer the phone?" Setsuna said through the receiver.

Yaten shrugged. "It's my way. You want my mom?"

"Yes, please."

He covered the mouthpiece and yelled, "Hey, Mom! Phone's for you! It's Setsuna!"

Apricot took the receiver from him, giving him a dark look. "You're not supposed to be answering the phone, Yaten. You're being punished, remember?"

"Right, sorry," Yaten replied and wandered away.

"And get busy cleaning my car!" she called after him. Shaking her head, she spoke into the receiver, "Hello?"

"Apricot, it's Setsuna. How are you?"

"Not great, Set," she answered. "Yaten and Taiki came home late last night with my car a filthy mess. Da Cider interfered before I could punish them and I never even found out exactly what happened. All I know is there was an ‘accident'."

"Well, I just came from Nuriko's and I CAN tell you exactly what happened."

\--

"Finally, a break." Seiya leaned against the counter and grinned at Taiki. "I'll bet Yaten almost wishes he were working today - he gets to stay home and deal with Mom's mood."

"He also probably has to clean up her car all by himself," Taiki sighed, "which means he won't be too happy with me."

"Ah, a little physical labour won't hurt him for a change. The only time he ever works is when he's here, and then he only does as much as he has to."

The door of the restaurant opened and Haruka and Hawk Eye came in. "Hey, where is everybody?" Haruka looked around. "All your customers desert you?"

"They cleared out about five minutes ago," Taiki said. "I'm sure you guys could see all the cars parked here from where you were."

"Yeah, I'm just teasing you, Taiki," Haruka replied.

Hawk Eye could tell by the twinkle in her eyes that Haruka was dying to say something about the fiasco of the previous night, so he quickly intervened. "So Yaten's not working today?"

"No, he's off," Seiya answered. "So I'll be making your tacos today, if that's what you're having."

"Probably, but I wanted to say something first," Haruka told him.

"Haruka!" Hawk Eye cried.

"What?" She looked at him. "I just want to apologize to Seiya for my attitude lately."

"Oh." Hawk Eye blushed, glancing at Taiki and wishing he hadn't just made himself look foolish.

"Well, thanks Haruka." Seiya grinned.

She smiled and shrugged. "I guess Fish Eye had a really good time with you last night. We're trying to arrange a party at his house so we can all get reacquainted and start over." She extended a hand. "I'm sorry."

Seiya shook her hand firmly. "I didn't help matters myself. I'm sorry, too. I hope we can be friends now."

The phone rang and Taiki picked it up. "Good afternoon, Captain Chicken/Tacoz, Taiki speaking, how may I help you?"

"You guys have to say all that every time the phone rings?" Haruka asked.

"Supposedly," Seiya replied. "Except for Yaten, who usually just says ‘Whaddya want, we're busy here!'"

Hawk Eye was watching Taiki as he listened on the phone and noticed he was getting pale. Fear had entered the lavender eyes, and that frightened Hawk Eye, as well. "Taiki, what's wrong?" he interrupted.

Haruka and Seiya both looked at Taiki, who held up a finger and said into the receiver, "Okay, thanks for the warning. Bye." He hung up, looking depressed.

"What happened?" Seiya asked.

"That was Ves Ves," he said. "She tried calling you at the garage first, Hawk Eye, but they said you were over here on break."

"What did she want?" Hawk Eye asked.

"Our parents," Taiki said slowly, then took a deep breath. "Your mothers and Michiru's got together and somehow figured everything out. They're telling our mom, too. Fish Eye is in serious trouble and the rest of us aren't much better off."

"Fish Eye got caught? Oh no!" Seiya gasped, then hesitated. "But ... what does that have to do with any of you?" He looked at his brother for an explanation. "Taiki?"

The tall redhead swallowed and decided Yaten was lucky to be at home, after all.

\--

I'm too young to die, Fish Eye thought miserably. His mother had called his father home, and it was a foregone conclusion that he would soon feel the business end of the belt. Differing emotions were coming at him so quickly he could barely sort them out. He was scared of being punished, but he also hated seeing the look of disappointment in his mother's eyes. He was furious at his brothers for tailing him on his date, and yet he knew they did it out of genuine concern for him. He was annoyed with the Quartet, who went along for the ride, and he felt very guilty that Haruka and Michiru were in trouble with their own parents because of him. Then there was Seiya.

Fish Eye sighed. What would Seiya think of him now? Would he even want to talk to him anymore? Setsuna had promised Nuriko that she'd tell Seiya's mother about the date and everything that happened. He didn't know if Seiya would be in trouble or not, but Yaten and Taiki would. They'd probably hate him, and he wasn't at all sure how Seiya would feel about his brothers spying on them. Would he be mad at them, or at Fish Eye, for starting all the sneaking around to begin with?

"How did I manage to completely botch everything up?" he wondered out loud.

"You had help, Fishie."

He looked up at Tiger Eye standing in his bedroom doorway. "I don't know if I've forgiven you or not," Fish Eye said.

"Fair enough," Tiger Eye said, walking over to sit beside him. "But I can still keep you company, can't I?"

"I wish they'd just get it over with," Fish Eye sighed. "Waiting for it is worse."

"I wouldn't be in such a hurry, if I were you," Tiger Eye told him. "And since I might BE you in a little while, I can assure you I'm not in any rush."

"Don't worry, Tigger, they won't whip you," Fish Eye said. "Secretly, they're probably glad you followed us, since I was out with a boy they didn't know."

"Maybe, but I know they're not big on the lying stuff." Tiger Eye examined his perfectly-manicured nails.

"If they whip you and Hawk Eye, they'll have to whip the girls, too, since they were sneaking around and lying, too." Fish Eye smiled wanly. "I don't think they have it in them to deliver seven beatings in one day."

"I don't know. Maybe if they traded off turns ...."

Sanosuke appeared in the bedroom doorway, holding a doubled belt in his hand. "Tiger Eye, would you please go downstairs?"

The blonde Shifter looked like he wanted to protest, but knew that doing so would make things worse for Fishie. He gave his sibling a sympathetic look and left the room, nearly tripping over the Quartet who had swarmed outside the door.

"Okay, you girls, come down with me," he told them.

"We want to stay," Palla Palla pouted.

"Go down with him!" Sanosuke ordered from within the bedroom.

"I guess we'll go down with you," Jun Jun said dryly.

\--

"Wait up, Haruka!"

"Forget it, she doesn't know how to slow down."

Hawk Eye shook his head and pumped his legs harder in an effort to catch up to the blonde bullet as she tore down the street half a block ahead of them. Seiya ran alongside him, his long ponytail flying. He couldn't believe they'd all run out on their jobs. Taiki had promised to look after things for Seiya, but who would man the gas pumps at the station with both he and Haruka gone?

"Seiya," he said as he ran, "I know why you're going and I know why I'm going, but why is Haruka going?"

"Same reason, different person," Seiya answered.

"We're worried about Fish Eye getting whipped - she doesn't seriously think the same thing will happen to Michiru for one little white lie, does she?"

"It doesn't matter. All that matters to her is Michiru is in trouble, so she has to be there. Case closed."

Hawk Eye briefly envisioned himself running to Taiki's side in a situation like this and realized he was getting ahead of himself. They hadn't even gone out yet. He'd better take care of that soon.

Good grief, he thought, what am I doing? Thinking about Taiki with Fishie in so much trouble?

They reached their street, and the boys saw Haruka dart up Michiru's driveway, not even pausing to say goodbye to them. She hadn't gotten as far as the porch steps when across the street, Kunzite came out of the house and bellowed, "HARUKA!"

_That_ made her stop. Hawk Eye and Seiya saw her hesitate and turn to look over her shoulder at her father.

"Come here," he said.

There was another moment's pause and then she smiled and waved. "I'll be right there! I've got something to do here first."

She disappeared into Michiru's house, and Hawk Eye didn't even look over to see Kunzite's expression. He was nervous enough as it was.

\--

Haruka walked through the foyer and stopped in the living room doorway. "Um, hi," she said to Michiru and her parents, who were seated in the room.

"What took you so long?" Setsuna remarked with a hint of humour. "We're almost through talking to her."

"Sorry I'm late," Haruka said in all seriousness, looking apologetically at Michiru. "I only just found out."

"You shouldn't have left work," Michiru told her. "You'll get in trouble."

"She's already in trouble," Kenshin said. "Haruka, I think you should go home."

"Can I at least try to plead Michi's case?"

"She's done perfectly well at pleading her own," Setsuna told her. "And as appreciative as we are of loyalty in friendship, we told her that she's really not helping herself or Fish Eye when she lies for him."

"Just like you aren't helping Michiru when you lie for her," Kenshin added.

"Haruka only did it because I asked her to," Michiru said.

"Then you shouldn't ask her to do such things," her mother said. "Your punishment stands - you're grounded for a week."

Michiru sighed and looked at Haruka with regret.

The front door opened and Kunzite strode into the room. He nodded to the adults. "Excuse me, Setsuna, Kenshin, I came to retrieve something of mine." He swept Haruka up over his shoulder.

"HEY!" she protested.

He swatted her upraised bottom. "Save it for home," he advised and headed for the door. "Talk to you folks later."

"Bye Kunzite," Kenshin said.

Michiru waved sadly and Haruka cast her one last yearning look as she was transported bodily from the house.

\--

Nuriko, Tiger Eye and the Quartet looked up as Hawk Eye burst into the house with Seiya. Both boys came to a skidding stop in the living room.

"Hello, Hawk Eye," Nuriko said. "From the look on your face, you know what's going on here." He gave Seiya a curious glance. "Who's this?"

The black-haired boy stepped forward. "I'm Seiya Kou, sir. I was Fish Eye's date last night."

"My name is Nuriko. I'm glad to finally meet you, but the timing isn't good, so perhaps you should go home for now."

"Where's Fishie?" Hawk Eye looked at his blonde brother.

"Up in his room with Papa," Tiger Eye answered.

Seiya sprinted for the stairs.

"Hey!" Nuriko protested.

"First door on the right!" Hawk Eye yelled after him.

\--

"Papa, I'm sorry!" Fish Eye cried, backing away from his father. "I know it was wrong to lie, but if you'll just give me a moment to explain - "

"Your mother says you already explained to him and he thinks punishment would be justified," Sanosuke said. "Come on, Fish Eye, must we go through a chase scene every time you do something wrong?"

"Only if you're chasing me with THAT!" Fish Eye nodded at the belt and jumped over the bed to land on the other side. Sanosuke was starting around it when the bedroom door opened and a boy he'd never seen before ran in.

"Seiya!" Fish Eye gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"This is the boy you were dating last night?" Sanosuke eyed Seiya suspiciously.

The newcomer nodded. "Yes sir, I'm Seiya Kou. I'd like to respectfully request that you not punish Fish Eye too harshly - it wasn't his fault alone."

"Excuse me, young man, but this isn't any of your business," Sano told him. "Please go home - Fish Eye will talk to you another time."

"It is my business, Sagara-san, because if Fish Eye hadn't wanted to go out with me, he wouldn't have felt the need to lie, which he was doing because he thought he was protecting me."

"And because he was afraid we'd say no," Sano added wryly.

"Just the same, I feel at least half responsible, so it wouldn't be fair to take it all out on Fish Eye." Seiya glanced at the belt in Sano's hand then looked him in the eyes. "I'd rather you punish me instead."

"Seiya, are you crazy?!" Fish Eye exclaimed. "Papa, don't listen to him!"

"Fish Eye, do you honestly think I would punish a stranger's child?" Sano turned to Seiya, infusing patience into his tone, "Your name is Seiya? Well, Seiya, as noble and heroic as your actions may be, I think even your own parents would tell you that it's unwise to interfere in another family's domestic matters."

"I don't know about that, they're both pretty pushy, too." Seiya grinned.

Fish Eye couldn't help giggling, but was silenced by a warning look from his father.

"All kidding aside, sir," Seiya added soberly. "I'm very serious about this. If you have to make a point, I'd rather you made it on me than Fish Eye. He'll still learn from it - I just don't want him to be hurt."

"Are you suggesting I'm wrong to whip my son when he lies to me?" Sano asked.

"No," Seiya admitted. "My mother would do the same. But in this case, Fish Eye was under pressure from me to go out with me, and from his siblings NOT to. He was also aware that his cousins might cause trouble. He made an error in judgment by not explaining all this to you ahead of time, and against my own better judgment, I didn't come over to meet you first." He took a deep breath. "So you see, it's not just his fault."

Sanosuke held his gaze for a long time before finally tucking the belt under his arm, shaking his head. "I can't say that I understand all your logic, Seiya, but your determination has to count for something." He looked at his blue-haired son. "Fish Eye, this boy just saved your hide. I hope you appreciate it."

"I'm grateful for what he did," Fish Eye said and hugged his father. "But it's you who made the final decision. Thank you, Papa."

"I love you, kid." Sano squeezed him tightly. "I just worry about you. You're too damned pretty for your own good and for my peace of mind. If I'm strict with you, that's why."

"I know," Fish Eye said. "I'll try not to do anything like this again."

"Try?" Sano laughed. "You'd be smart to do more than try, because next time I won't be so generous. And don't think you're getting off scot-free, either - there's going to be _some_ punishment here or I'll be a totally neglectful parent. Your mother and I will discuss it." He gave Seiya a stern look. "Young man, you got lucky this time. I could just as easily have resented this intrusion and Fish Eye might have been even worse off."

Seiya nodded. "I know, sir. I'm glad that didn't happen."

"I want to meet your parents and learn more about you, too. If you're going this far to help him out, I'm assuming you'll want to date Fish Eye again?"

Seiya smiled warmly at Fish Eye. "If he'll have me."

"Then we'll be talking soon. In the meantime, I'm going downstairs. Fish Eye, you've got two minutes to say whatever you two want to say and then Seiya is out the door, understand?"

"Yes, Papa."

The kids watched Sanosuke make a point of pushing the bedroom door wide open on his way out.

Seiya breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close, huh?"

"I don't know whether to thank you or punch you," Fish Eye told him. "How do you think I'd have felt if he HAD punished you instead of me?"

"I didn't have much time to plan strategy on the way over here, I'm sorry." Seiya smiled. "All I knew was what Hawk Eye told me was probably going on, and this was all I could think of that might get his attention."

"Papa's not a fool - he allowed you to talk him out of it," Fish Eye said, then smiled. "I'm still grateful, though. If you hadn't come at all, I'd have had it."

Seiya grinned. "So you're still willing to go out with me again?"

"I should be asking you that - I'm the one who caused all the trouble," Fish Eye replied. "But yeah, I'd still like to see you again."

"I guess you might get grounded," Seiya said. "But I'll see you at work, right?"

"Right," Fish Eye assured him, then gave him a quizzical look. "How did you and Hawk Eye find out what was happening, anyway?"

"One of your cousins called the restaurant. Hey, do you know what they and our brothers were doing last night?"

"Yes!" Fish Eye growled. "I can't believe they were all spying on us like that!"

"I didn't have time to do more than get a confession out of Taiki, but I'll get all the details out of he and Yaten later." He gasped suddenly and covered his mouth. "Yaten! Oh man, he's at home alone with Mom who probably knows the truth by now!"

"Yes, Setsuna said she'd be calling your mother. I'm sorry."

"Neighborhood grapevine," Seiya sighed. "All the mothers are kind of like a little spy network - keeping each other up on what we kids are doing. Guess I can't blame them, since the kids are doing the same thing!"

Fish Eye laughed. "My mother is going to love it here."

Seiya put his hands on Fish Eye's shoulders and looked into his blue eyes. "I hope you will, too."

"I already do," Fish Eye told him sincerely.

\--

End of part 11

(1998)

Character copyrights are too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids are stuck doing household chores.

Trio Trials

Part 12

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

"Palla Palla HATES silver polish!"

"Not as much as I hate this vacuum!" Cere Cere told her sister, giving the vacuum a little kick. "It keeps giving out on me!"

Nuriko glanced down at it as he passed through the living room. "We need to take that for repairs soon. Just jiggle the hose a little where it connects."

Cere Cere followed his instructions and the vacuum roared to life again. She wasn't sure whether to be glad or disappointed. If the machine broke down completely, she wouldn't have to vacuum anymore, but then she'd certainly be assigned some other desperately boring and dirty chore to do instead.

She, her siblings and cousins had all been assigned work to do around the house for their part in what happened the previous night. By the time they were done, she pouted, Nuriko wouldn't have to lift a finger to clean the house for a month.

Since Hawk Eye could fly, he was outside washing the outer upstairs windows. Tiger Eye was at the pet shop, and Fish Eye was also at his job. Jun Jun was finishing the mowing that Tiger Eye abandoned the day before, and Ves Ves was cleaning out the gutters, a job that might have been dangerous if she wasn't a practiced acrobat, as they all were.

The doorbell rang and Nuriko went to answer it. He found Haruka on the front step, looking a little sheepish.

"Hello, Nuriko," she said.

"Haruka," he replied calmly.

"Um," the usually-confident racer scuffed a toe against the porch, "I wanted to apologize. For lying to you about the cookbook. I'm sorry."

"You certainly weren't the only one to do any lying, Haruka," Nuriko told her. "I forgive you."

The sexy blonde raised her eyes and smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks!"

"I imagine you want to see Hawk Eye since you're here," Nuriko said. "I think he's working on the back windows right now. Don't stay long, he's being punished and is supposed to be concentrating on his work."

"Okay, thanks." Haruka jogged around the side of the house and shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up for Hawk Eye. She saw him in mid-way form, hovering outside one of the bedroom windows with cleaner and a roll of paper towels. He looked incredibly bored.

"Hey, Hawk Eye, that's some view!" she yelled mischievously.

The Shifter gave a startled squawk and closed the muscular legs that were clothed in lavender tights. The sudden motion threw off his rhythm and he began plummeting toward the ground.

"Oh no!" Haruka cried and ran to get underneath him, ignoring the probability that breaking his fall would likely break HER. Just before his body could drop onto her, his descent stopped, and he hovered just above her outstretched arms.

"Hi!" He grinned.

She gave him a Look and smacked him upside the head. "Birdbrain! I thought you were going to get hurt!"

"Ouch, I just did!" He laughed, rubbing the spot where she'd hit him. He lightly landed on his feet, and Haruka took a good look at the outfit he always wore in his mid-way form, shaking her head.

"You're a brave man, Hawk Eye," she admitted. "Wearing a skirt, high heels and tights and then flying around thirty feet in the air. Nothing like drawing attention to yourself, huh?"

"You ought to know!" he told her. "You're the expert on gaining attention." He brushed off his skirt. "Anyway, this is a circus costume, and it appears naturally when I assume mid-way form. Flying is easier in mid-way, soooo ...."

"Ah, don't get me wrong, I think it's cool." Haruka grinned, then looked up at the windows. "So is that your punishment? Window washing?"

"Among other things," Hawk Eye replied. "We're all doing housework and stuff, even the girls. How about you? Your dad was pretty upset when I last saw him yesterday."

"He took my keys," Haruka said, making a face. "No car, no cycle, no fun."

"At least neither of us are grounded, right? If I can get through playing Cinderella for a while, maybe we can hang out later."

Haruka laughed. "You mean your parents would trust you with their car after last night?"

"Well, maybe not," Hawk Eye said thoughtfully. "Ours wasn't the car that got wrecked, but they're still not happy we ran off with it. Maybe we could hang out here or at your place."

"Sure," Haruka said easily. "Michiru is grounded, unfortunately, so I'm going to be alone and lonely."

"Poor baby, we'll see what we can do." He grinned. "In the meantime, I'd better get back to work before Mama catches me standing around for too long. He'll think I don't have enough work to keep me busy."

"Okay," Haruka said. "Maybe I'll wander over to Captain Chicken and bug Fish Eye and whoever is working with him."

\--

"Hey, Yui!"

The blue-eyed blonde stopped and turned, then waved. "Hi Kurama! Are you going to the library, too?"

He ran to catch up to her, bright red hair glinting in the sun. "Yes, I need to return these." He held up a couple of books.

"Hey, that's the one I'm on the waiting list for!" Yui laughed, taking one of the books from him. "They said I was next in line, so I guess I've been waiting for you!"

"All your life," Kurama said in mock seriousness. Yui bopped him over the head with the book.

"So," she said, "were you an eyewitness to all the fun last night?"

"Front row centre," he answered. "Although you know my parents. Even when my father is upset, he doesn't seem upset. My mother is a little more obvious about it, but neither of them are much for yelling and screaming."

"No, all that took place in my house, I think," Yui said ruefully. "But then, you know _my_ parents. They're champion yeller and screamers, and Haruka's not bad herself when she gets started. She lost in the end, though. No driving anything for her for a while."

"Ouch, that has to hurt," Kurama commented. "Michiru's grounded. No mall, no museum, no phone."

"That means Haruka's going to be moping around the house, too."

"Not if she hangs out with Hawk Eye - I guess they've gotten to be good friends."

"True enough, she mentions him almost as much as she does Michiru lately."

They turned up the entryway to the library and Yui glanced at Kurama. "Do you think everything went okay at the Sagaras'? I know Haruka was worried about how Hawk Eye made out."

"Michiru was concerned for Fish Eye, too, but as she's not allowed to use the phone, she couldn't call him this morning."

"I guess Fish Eye's date with Seiya went okay, according to Haruka. She's even feeling more kindly toward Seiya because of it."

Kurama held the door open for Yui. "Are the parents still going to have the barbecue they were talking about?" he asked.

"Probably, just so that Nuriko and Sanosuke can meet Seiya's parents," she replied. "It should be an interesting time when they do, huh?"

"That's for sure," Kurama said wryly. "Let's hope Seiya made a really good impression on the Sagaras for Fish Eye's sake, because once they meet his father and Yaten, they may have second thoughts about the relationship."

\--

End of part 12

(1998)

Character copyrights are too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids chat between orders at the fast food restaurant.

Trio Trials

Part 13

by Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

\--

Taiki heaved a sigh and gave Yaten an imploring look. "Come on, Yaten, please forgive me. I'm sorry you got spanked, but it wasn't my fault that I was working while you were at home so you took all the heat."

His blonde brother shot him a glare. "Will you keep your voice down?!" he hissed. "I don't particularly want the whole restaurant knowing Mom spanked me, okay?!"

"Aw, leave him alone, Yaten," Seiya said. "He'll suffer as much from the guilt as you did the spanking, anyway."

"I doubt that," Yaten grumbled. "Anyway, this is really all your fault, Seiya!"

"MY fault?!" Seiya laughed. "How do you figure that? You were the ones following us around, and you guys trashed Mama's car!"

"It's your fault for dating Fish Eye in the first place."

Seiya's lips twitched and he winked at Taiki. "That's Yaten logic for you."

"Did I hear my name mentioned?" Fish Eye asked cautiously as he joined the other boys near the front counter of Captain Chicken/Tacoz.

Seiya shot Yaten a warning glance and was grateful when his brother clamped his lips shut and returned to his workstation. Seiya smiled at Fish Eye, thinking how only the blue-haired beauty could make their ugly uniforms look cute.

"Don't worry about it," he assured him. "Yaten's just in a bad mood. He got punished for following us around and wrecking Mom's car."

"Even though Taiki is as responsible as I was!" Yaten called out from the Tacoz prep counter. "And it's all Seiya's fault, anyway!"

Fish Eye looked at Seiya. "How can it be Taiki's fault if it's your fault?"

"In another minute it'll probably be your fault for being so pretty that I asked you out," Seiya whispered. Fish Eye blushed, but couldn't help smiling, too.

"Hey, lovebirds, how about some service?"

Seiya and Fish Eye turned abruptly to face a grinning Haruka.

"What are you doing out and around?" Seiya asked. "Didn't you get grounded, too?"

"Nope, my parents don't want me in the house driving them crazy - they know better than to ground me." Haruka chuckled, then sighed. "Unfortunately, they also know how to hit where it hurts. I'm a pedestrian for a while."

"Tough break, but at least you didn't get spanked like Yaten," Seiya said lightly. A bag of sour cream connected with the back of his head.

"Yaten!" Taiki scolded. "What if that had broken?"

"What, the bag or my skull?" Seiya said grumpily while Fish Eye inspected his head for a bump. "Ouch!"

"I'm not even touching you, you big baby," Fish Eye teased, then ruffled the black hair. "There's nothing there."

"In Seiya's head? I believe it," Yaten stated.

"Okay, that does it," Seiya snapped. "What can I throw at HIM?!"

Kuwabara came up from the back and waved a hand at them. "You guys better quiet down! The boss says you're getting too loud - you'll disturb the customers."

"Yes, this is very disturbing," Haruka said, trying to stifle laughter.

"We'll be quieter, Kuwabara," Taiki assured the muscular cook. He watched the other boy return to his kitchen then glanced hesitantly at Haruka. "Um, I was wondering ... how did Hawk Eye make out at home?"

Seiya gave his tall brother a questioning look, but didn't say anything, allowing Haruka to answer.

"He's doing housework. All the kids are, I guess. We're going to hang out later." Haruka smiled mischievously. "Want to join us?"

Taiki's eyes widened. "What? Oh ... no, I can't."

"Well, if you change your mind, we'll probably be at my house."

"Just what you need, Taiki," Yaten said. "A fun-filled afternoon of changing the oil on her car."

"I only wish I could do that, Yaten." Haruka leaned on the counter. "But I'm lucky if I can get away with looking at my car, letting alone actually touching it. No, I'm afraid we'll have to do something dull like playing ball or tennis."

"Or badminton?" Yaten snorted. "You'll already have a birdie to hit." He carefully cut open a bag of hot beef and tilted it into the pan set before him. "Is Tiger Eye doing chores, too?" he asked Haruka casually.

Fish Eye leaned close to Seiya. "Why does he keep asking Haruka about my brothers when _I'm_ right here?"

"Yaten logic." Seiya grinned. "Ignore it."

"He's working at the pet shop," Haruka answered Yaten.

"Really?" The blonde looked up.

"Yaten loves animals," Taiki told Fish Eye. "He can spend hours in a pet shop."

"Maybe I'll drop by there after work," Yaten said more to himself than anyone else.

"Why, so you can yell at Tiger Eye some more?" Taiki inquired. "You two certainly fought enough in the car."

"Hey, it was a tense situation!" Yaten retorted.

Fish Eye noticed some more people coming in the door. "Customers, guys. Haruka, do you know what you want?"

"Just some cheese fries and chocolate milk." Haruka watched Fish Eye tentatively punch in her order. "You're on cash already?"

"Tamahome is sick with the flu, so they want me to learn cash quickly to help out more." Fish Eye frowned at the touch screen in front of him. "Seiya, where do I find the screen with nacho cheese on it?"

"It's on the Tacoz screen, but for this you go there and just hit the 'cheese fries' button," Seiya instructed.

Fish Eye followed his instructions. "I think I'm getting the hang of this," he said.

"You'll be okay. This is a slow day - when it's busier you may need some help, but I'll always be nearby." Seiya grinned. Fish Eye looked at him over his shoulder.

"I hope so," he said, trying not to smile. "I think I'll need lots of help."

Haruka looked between the two of them waiting for someone to tell her how much she owed them, but they once again looked lost in their own little world. She sighed resignedly and smiled. "I can see the speed of service in this place going downhill fast."

\--

End of part 13

(1998)

Character copyrights are too numerous to mention. Just know that none of them are mine.

Please do not re-post this fic in any form or otherwise distribute it.


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